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How to Save a Life

Welcome everyone to my Angels and Demons sequel! Instead of directing you to read the first fic to understand this one, I'll save you the time and energy by giving you a short summary in this here spoiler box.

Spoiler:- Angels and Demons summed up by Dawn Twinleaf:

“Okay…let met get this straight. So…this is what happened last summer, right?” She took a deep breath, and Katharine’s eyes widened. Was she really going to try to cram all of last summer’s events into one quick synopsis? The moment Dawn started to speak, both Eric and Katharine groaned. “The Aquapolian Cardinal was murdered the night before the conclave to elect the next pope. Then, the following day, six other cardinals go missing and clues are left that point to the six elements of Aquapolian science. Some symbologist guy gets called in from Harvard, and you help him track down a few of the cardinals before Rowan and Eric show up to help track down the last three. Then, after doing this, you discover that some antimatter bomb has been hidden in the Vatican. When you find it, your dad gets rid of it himself and then y’all discover some big bad demon is going to try and take down the Vatican himself. So, Katharine, you go Super Saiyan on his *** and destroy him. A few days later, your big bad uncle shows up and makes you burn a really creepy looking star into the basilica floor, and this Legendary Team gets called to investigate. Before we know it, there’s a plague killing all the humans across the globe, the Shadow Forces are attacking the Vatican with a new demon buddy, and your dad and uncle have to deal with some sibling rivalry issues that comes down to them being the legendaries Reshiram and Zekrom. Oh, not to mention, you kick another demon’s *** and six of the Legendary Team members get to use the six powers to kick Shadow Follower ***. Finally, a new Aquapolian pope is elected and your dad becomes Aquapolian Cardinal. The end, and everyone is happy, except your dad ends up killing your uncle.”

For those of you who do wish to read Angels and Demons in its entirety, here is the link.

1. I’ve placed characters from dozens of different TV shows, movies, and books in this story. Some of them may seem OCC, and feel free to speak up if you recognize a specific character and want to say something about OCC. In addition, at the beginning of each chapter, I’ll give you a list of new main characters introduced in the chapter plus a link to a picture of the actor or actress I have envisioned to play the character.
2. I can take constructive criticism, but I don’t take bashing. If you think my story idea isn’t worth the time of day from you, don’t read it. You don’t have to. If it doesn’t seem to be an award-winning fanfiction, don’t gripe about how the idea just doesn’t work. I’m writing this to entertain others and share a story that I’ve dreamed up of, not to prepare to publish a book of it in the future. Also, don’t bash other reviewers. I’ve had this happen in the past, and it is extremely rude. I’d still like to emphasize though that you are completely free to point out grammar mistakes, plotholes, etc. that you think can be improved. That’s the whole point in reviewing, right?
3. Aquapolians are half-human and half-Pokemon beings that look like humans but have Pokemon powers.. The Pokemon world is Aquapolis, which sits in the sea south of Japan in the real world.

4. I’m really bad about PM lists, but I’m going to keep one now on this first post. Simply state in your post whether or not you’d like to be on it and I’ll add you.

PM List:

1. harryheart

Without further ado, I present to you How to Save a Life.

Where did I go wrong?
I lost a friend
Till we’re alone and the bitterness ends
But I stayed up with you all night
Now I know how to save a life
-The Fray

Prologue

Most legendaries lead solitary immortal lives. While each and every one is granted one short mortal lifespan on Earth, when they die, they must deal with the fact that they will never see their loved ones in Heaven. They are allowed to visit their loved ones as long as the mortals live…but have to suffer through their deaths accordingly. This is why most legendaries choose to distance themselves from mortals, lest they fall in love or grow attached.

And then there are the lucky legendaries whose loved ones are also legendaries themselves. Their set of woes is another all together.

------------

Hummel spread the papers across his desk, searching for names amongst the many dense lists on the sheets. He heard a knock on the door, but failed to raise his head or call the visitor in. Instead, whoever it was burst in. A man in a rumpled grey suit held a crumpled piece of paper in his hands.

“Sir…” He started.

“Didn’t I tell you never to enter my office without permission?” Hummel snapped.

“Names? Not A name?” He snatched the sheet of paper out of the agents hand and glanced at the two names on the paper. “Holy…” He leaned back in his seat, staring at the last of the two names. “Do you know what this means?” He asked, shaking the piece of paper.

“Possibly making an enemy out of Aquapolis.”

“How about definitely making an enemy out of Aquapolis?” Hummel snapped again, tossing the sheet of paper to the floor and placing his head in his hands to think for a few moments. “Okay…call the team in here. We’ll get started right away…”

The man nodded and quickly left Hummel to his thoughts. He stared out of the floor to ceiling windows of his office. He could see Washington in the distance.

“Dear God, what am I doing?”

------------

Light footsteps sounded on the marble floors of the chamber as the young legendary briskly walked to one of the innermost chambers of the temple.

“Where are you going?”

She turned to the brown-haired legendary beside her. “I’m going to make sure that he hasn’t woken up before Quamachi can get here.”

“No one’s allowed in the chamber until she arrives.”

“There is no way any one of us can seal him inside without her…we can at least distract him…”

The other legendary shook his head and stalked away, leaving her to stare after him with pearl pink eyes. She glanced back at the chamber before stepping away.

I’ve also decided to add facts about Aquapolis to begin each chapter so that new readers can learn more about the country that serves as the backdrop of our story. Enjoy!

Oh, and for those of you who read Angels and Demons, I’ve decided to refer to the camerlengo as Patrick from now on. You’ll see why later.

Fact of the chapter: Aquapolians are half-human and half-Pokemon creatures who look like humans, walk like humans, talk like humans, etc. Pretty much the only difference between Aquapolians and humans is that an Aquapolian can use Pokemon powers. When you’re walking on the street, to identify if someone is Aquapolian or not, check to see if they’re wearing a blue Aquapolian crystal pendent around their neck. Both Aquapolian men and women wear these pendent to declare that they are Aquapolian.

New characters: None.

1: Pika’s Protest

The worst thing about coming home was the security. Truth was, it was great that the Swiss Guard had stepped up to the plate and hired a dozen new Italian-Aquapolians for the force. The downside was that everyone who regularly visited the Vatican and was not the pope, camerlengo, a cardinal, or a priest needed to renew his or her security pass once a month. And Katharine hated dealing with the head of the Swiss Guard.

Captain Richter had never approved of her presence at the Vatican from the moment her father adopted her at the age of six. She had been the only (known) Aquapolian in the church other than the Aquapolian Cardinal, and the human captain had disliked her for what he claimed was a “security risk.” Now, fourteen years later, after she had saved the church from a demon attack (twice!), he was more civil to her, but still cool as ice.

“You’re overdue for your security update, Miss McKenna,” he growled as he signed her new laminated security pass. She tried her best not to roll her eyes.

“I’ve been away at a tournament for the past six months, captain. I haven’t had time to,” she said, fighting against her urge to snap at him. He was a necessary evil to deal with, but he had won points with her for hiring Aquapolians for the head guard. Of course, it had nearly taken the collapse of the church for him to do so…

He shook his head and sighed. “Just go, Miss McKenna, and remember to check back in a month,” he said, shooing her out the door with an exasperated expression on his face.

------------

Only a few more days before he would see Aquapolis for the first time in his life.

Most Aquapolians his age who were from human states would have already been to Aquapolis at least once in their lives. However, Father Patrick McKenna, the camerlengo of the Vatican and the new Aquapolian Cardinal, had always been too busy to travel there. He had sent his daughter to Aquapolis for years during the school year to ensure that she grew up in an Aquapolian setting, but he had never joined her on one of her flights to and from Rome.

He stared at the Book of the Chosen One in front of him. He had been reading the book full of legendary knowledge for the past six months and had not even come close to finishing it. Every time he opened the book, a new passage had been scribbled into it either by the monks at the Cave of Origin or another legendary editing his or her own lore. He had never found the section on Reshiram and Zekrom and wondered what had been written about him and his deceased brother.

A knock on the door jarred him from his thoughts. “Come in!” He called out, closing the Book of the Chosen One as the door opened. Katharine walked in, a new security pass clutched in her right hand and a slightly annoyed expression on her face.

“I’m glad Captain Richter is beefing up security, but this is insane,” she grumbled. “I’ve been living here for fourteen years, and I helped stop the demons who attacked…”

“How was the tournament?” He interrupted, standing up and walking around his small desk. Her eyes lit up instantly at the mention of the tournament in Jhoto she had just returned from.

“It was a tough final battle, but Umbreon and I managed to win in the end.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t make it…there were some last minute things I had to wrap up before going to Aquapolis,” he said, smiling and giving her a quick hug.

“You’ll be a lot closer to the next tournament…” She said thoughtfully, drifting off at the last second.

“When are you starting your new job in Ever Grande?”

She looked down at her feet. “A couple of weeks from now…”

“Then you’ll have time to show me around Aquapolis.”

“I better go pack up the rest of my stuff to move into the apartment…”

“I thought we were staying in the outer part of the Cave of Origin?”

“I actually have an apartment in Ever Grande set up…” She said, fiddling with the Aquapolian pendent around her neck. It was shaped like a cross.

He smiled. “I guess it’s settled, then…” Glancing at the clock, he said, “Our flight leaves in a few hours.”

“Then I better hurry,” she said quickly, racing from his office.

------------

Pika, Katharine’s Aquapolian cat, let out a huge meow as she opened the door to her room.

“Yeah, yeah, I know you haven’t left Italy in years, but, trust me, you’ll love the new apartment,” she said, putting his blue cat carrier down on her bed and gently stuffing him into it. His thick fur bulged out at the sides, staying true to his Himalayan pedigree. She quickly grabbed the odd book, clothes, and other odds and ends she still had in her room. She could always come back if she left anything, but most of her belongings were now in Aquapolis, being kept at a friend’s home until she and her father had moved into the apartment.

She swung Pika’s case, ignoring his protests as she hurried for the taxi that would take them to the airport.

“You’re bringing Pika with you?” Patrick asked as she swung the cat’s carrier into the seat in between them.

“Of course I am. Who’s going to take care of him when we’re both gone from Rome?”

“Certainly not Captain Richter,” he muttered as the taxi swung into traffic.

------------

“A trainer’s license?”

“You haven’t applied for your trainer’s license yet?!”

“That wasn’t listed in my job description…”

Standing right outside Gate 20 of one of the busiest airports in the world, Katharine had just realized that she had forgotten to inform her father that all government workers in Aquapolis had to have either a trainer’s or coordinator’s license and at least one Pokemon. Honestly, all that had filled her thoughts during the six months that had elapsed since Patrick was named the Aquapolian Cardinal had been battle strategies and training methods. She had hoped someone from Ever Grande would be sent over to inform the young cardinal of some of the basics of Aquapolian government, but she had found herself suddenly thrust into the role herself.

Of course, it wasn’t her father’s fault. Being the camerlengo of the Catholic Church, the advisor to the pope himself, pretty much restricted any travel outside of Rome for most of the year. She could only remember a handful of times when her father had even left Italy, and he had certainly never been to Aquapolis, the homeland of Aquapolians worldwide. Without her, he would be thoroughly lost. Luckily for her, he was an extremely fast learner and much more intelligent that people gave most priests credit for.

She sighed, thinking over the steps she had to follow through to explain their situation. During high school, she had been top of her class at an extremely competitive private school, inheriting most of her intelligence from her father (and, she realized with a grimace, from her deceased Uncle Hastings, who had been quite a classical literature enthusiast on top of being a genocidal maniac). Despite this, she still found it extremely hard to teach say calculus to someone who knew less than she did.

“All government workers in Aquapolis must have a trainer’s license,” she started, looking around to see if any security guards were ready to approach them. The ones she saw were getting antsy at the two Aquapolians just standing in the middle of the gate, but she ignored them. “It’s a tradition going back to ancient times when the strongest trainers ruled the country. And, afterward, we need to get you a Pokemon.”

Due to international law, Pokemon were not allowed outside of their Poke Balls in any human state (that is, any state that was not 75% or higher Aquapolian population, which only included Japan and Aquapolis). Therefore, her father hadn’t encountered many Pokemon except for her Umbreon and the few legendaries that had shown their face during the enormous battle between the Legendary Team and Shadow Forces a few months prior. After he had been informed of his new position, however, Patrick had taken it upon himself to study all six hundred odd species of Pokemon. Quite a task, but she knew that he could handle it.

“Do I need a trainer’s license to get into the country?” He asked, somewhat sarcastically as he glanced at the security guards starting to make their way toward the two Aquapolians. After spending some time with the overly sarcastic members of the Legendary Team, some of their ways of speaking were rubbing off on him. “Otherwise, I think we may have to turn around and go back…”

“Is there a problem here?” Katharine winced as the security guard crossed his arms over the Aquapolian blue Poke Ball crest on his uniform. Government uniforms throughout Aquapolis were color-coded by region, as were trainer and coordinator licenses. Kanto’s were red, blue, and yellow. The Orange Archipelago’s was orange. Jhoto’s sported gold and silver trim, while Hoenn’s took on ruby, sapphire, and emerald shades. Sinnoh displayed diamond and pearl colors, while Isshu stuck to the standard black and white. Ever Grande (which was considered both a region and the capital city due to its large size) reserved Aquapolian crystal blue as its official color.

“No, officer, we were just moving into the terminal, sorry!” Katharine said quickly, grabbing her father’s shirt sleeve and pulling him toward the terminal, trying to get out of the security guard’s path of glaring. Once through the passport line, Katharine kept her eye out for their luggage, especially Pika’s carrier.

The Himalayan-Aquapolian cat was not happy with being stuffed in a too-small carrier and placed in a baggage compartment in the belly of an airplane. His yellow-green eyes glared out at her as she peeked through the wires to see if he was physically all right after his journey through the skies. He gave her an angry meow, turning his face to gaze at people out of the side holes in his carrier. Katharine rolled her eyes, grabbing her suitcase before rejoining her father in the main part of the airport.

“We can get your trainer’s license at the Hall of Fame,” Katharine said, glancing around to get her bearings straight in the busy airport. She swung Pika’s carrier, causing an angry growl to erupt from the feline. She sighed. If they didn’t get to the apartment soon, Pika would be putting up a huge fuss. Unlike other cats, he had a huge meow when he was ticked off, and talked constantly. She wondered if he was extremely hungry yet.

In answer to that question, a yowl erupted from the blue carrier. “I think we better head to the apartment,” Patrick said, looking down at the soon-to-be enraged Himalayan tabby, whose face was pressed against the wire bars.

------------

As bustling as Rome was, it wasn’t as crowded as, say, New York. In terms of crowdedness, Ever Grande was somewhere in between New York and Tokyo. Bustling enough to accidently run into someone on occasion, but not enough to be shoulder-to-shoulder people. In size, however, it was the largest capital in the world, large enough to be considered an official region of Aquapolis as well as a city.

Although it was to be expected, Patrick was still thrown off by the fact that everyone he passed on the street wore an Aquapolian crystal pendent, the universal sign that a person was an Aquapolian and not a human. Rome had had a small population of Italian-Aquapolians, but one didn’t pass them on the street every day. Katharine led them deeper into the city, swinging Pika’s carrier and her suitcase as if neither of them weighed a pound. He could hear the cat growling as she swung his carrier around so that she could detach a Poke Ball from her belt. He almost protested as she started to release the Pokemon inside, when he realized that it was perfectly legal to do so in Aquapolis.

Ok... so not much to review here as it was short and sweet and is setting things up again, but nevertheless there's already a great deal of stuff occuring and you're setting us up for an interesting story I think. I was wondering what you were going to do, especially because Angels and Demons was so epically good and climaxed really well!

One thing I would note though is, although it's the prologue, a little more description about some situations and places would've been appreciated, but that may have been me. I'd love to know the sort of intricate details, or a few at least of the temple and maybe about Hummel, although I'm sure you'll introduce that in the next few chapters. I gues I felt the distance from description in this chapter a bit of a taunt and I really wanted to know more, although that can work as a way to draw people into the story, however.

Overal, a nice set up, but maybe a bit more description would've been nice but I'll see what you do in the next few chapters and judge it from there.

Ok... so not much to review here as it was short and sweet and is setting things up again, but nevertheless there's already a great deal of stuff occuring and you're setting us up for an interesting story I think. I was wondering what you were going to do, especially because Angels and Demons was so epically good and climaxed really well!

One thing I would note though is, although it's the prologue, a little more description about some situations and places would've been appreciated, but that may have been me. I'd love to know the sort of intricate details, or a few at least of the temple and maybe about Hummel, although I'm sure you'll introduce that in the next few chapters. I gues I felt the distance from description in this chapter a bit of a taunt and I really wanted to know more, although that can work as a way to draw people into the story, however.

Overal, a nice set up, but maybe a bit more description would've been nice but I'll see what you do in the next few chapters and judge it from there.

Yeah, I keep description in the prologue to a miminum to reduce spoilers.

Oh, and sidenote for those who read Angels and Demons, Hastings McKenna (Katharine's uncle and Patrick's twin brother) was NOT played by Ewan McGregor (contrary to popular belief). He was played by Gerard Butler.

Fact of the Chapter: Each Aquapolian is granted control over one of the seventeen elements at birth. Sometimes, the same element will manifest itself in the entirety of a family line, such as the Blackthorn Dragon Clan, a family made up solely of dragon-type Aquapolians (with one or two exceptions as you’ll see in this story). Additionally, some Aquapolians show signs of genetic defects that allow them to use a type closely related to their own, such as a water-type that is able to also use ice powers.

New Characters of the Chapter:
Wallace-played by Christopher Gorham (Covert Affairs)
Dawn-haven’t actually assigned an actress to her yet.

2: A New Home

Katharine leaned up against the glass paneling of the elevator, gazing out across Ever Grande as the lift took them up to the top floor of the twenty-story apartment building. The largest capital in the world, the city spread out as far as the eye could see, the skyscrapers and older buildings only interrupted by four large rivers that met in the center of the city, emptying into a giant lake. At least, that’s what it looked like to the Aquapolian and human eye. To legendaries, the rivers seemed to empty into a huge gorge that surrounded a temple in the Japanese style. Inside this temple was the fabled Cave of Origin. The home of the legendaries actually lay in another dimension with the temple serving as a pathway. The only non-legendary allowed inside the actual Cave of Origin was the Aquapolian Cardinal.

She glanced across the elevator at Patrick, who seemed to be trying to take in the entire scene of Ever Grande at once. For the first time in history, the Aquapolian Cardinal’s position was being filled by an actual legendary. Her father, as told by one of the prophecies spoken at the beginning of time, was Reshiram, the legendary of white flame. In addition, his brother Hastings had been Zekrom, the legendary of black lightning. Never before had three legendaries been born into one family. Even if he hadn’t been chosen by the monks at the Cave of Origin to fill in the deceased Cardinal Reed’s position as Aquapolian Cardinal, he would have still been able to see the temple. Still, if he hadn’t been chosen, she doubted he would ever have made it to Ever Grande.

“We’ll be able to see the Cave of Origin from the balcony…” she said, gazing at the Ever Grande Coliseum as it came into view. The largest coliseum in Aquapolis, the stadium was home to several major tournaments throughout the year. Several of Katharine’s wins had been earned in that stadium, and she had spent hours challenging trainers to matches during the off-season within its walls. She made a mental note to herself to drag her father to one of her next matches.

She sighed, remembering that she also had to get him a trainer’s license and a Pokemon. Usually, government officials had already caught and trained their Pokemon before entering office. In fact, their prowess was what earned many of them their office. Gym leaders served as mayors, while Elite Four served as higher officials in each region. Even the Champion was chosen by the previous Champion on the basis of how powerful they were as well as their leadership skills and so on. Cardinal Reed, though he wasn’t allowed to release his Pokemon in Rome, had had a well-trained Arcanine companion, his only Pokemon left over from his early days as a Shadow Follower. Then again, Cardinal Reed had been born and grew up in Aquapolis, where every child was surrounded by Pokemon at an early age. Her father had been born and raised in the human country of Ireland, then had moved to Rome after joining the church and being named the camerlengo. He had spent his entire life in human countries, where Pokemon were not allowed to be released from their Poke Balls.

Making another mental note to find a suitable Pokemon for her father, she glanced at the display over the elevator’s door. They were two floors away from the top. She secretly hoped their neighbor wasn’t home. The twentieth floor of this particular building contained only two large apartments, pretty expensive for those who didn’t have high-paying jobs. However, Katharine’s saved tournament winnings over the years had been enough to rent the apartment for a long time. Their neighbor was an old school friend of hers, and they got along well…She cringed, wondering how long she was going to be able to keep up this charade.

“Katharine? This is our floor, right?”

Patrick’s voice interrupted her thoughts, and she realized that they had reached the twentieth floor several moments beforehand. She picked up Pika’s carrier, ignoring the cat’s annoyed meow as they walked down the short hallway to their door. She breathed a sigh of relief as they passed their neighbor’s apartment. Maybe he wasn’t home at all?

As she dug in her pocket for her set of keys, a click sounded from the door behind them, and she froze. Maybe her father wouldn’t recognize him? Maybe he wouldn’t introduce himself? Perhaps she wouldn’t be in trouble if the truth came out after all? She dropped Pika’s case absentmindedly, causing the cat to yell in protest.

“What do you have in there? A tiny Luxray?” Standing in the doorway of his apartment, the Aquapolian laughed, striding to the cage and picking it up. He was easily in his late twenties with brown hair and ice blue eyes. He wore a blue sweater and jeans and was walking around barefoot as always. “Ah…this must be Pika! He’s one fat cat.”

“He’s not fat, he’s fluffy!” She protested, snatching Pika’s carrier back as he laughed. She sighed and opened the front door, allowing the cat to exit in a huff. One look around the room, however, told Pika he was no longer in the Vatican. The Aquapolian cat looked up at her with puzzled eyes, pressing his coat up to Umbreon’s to make sure they weren’t in danger. The dark Pokemon stayed cool and calm, telling Pika that everything was all right.

The Aquapolian shook his head, turning to Patrick to introduce himself. Katharine cringed, hoping that her friend didn’t give anything away. She was going to die of suspense before long. She had never kept a secret from her father before…not like this. Though every reason why she did so was solid, she felt extremely guilty every time she had to mention her new job.

“I’m Wallace,” the Aquapolian said, bowing in the usual Aquapolian greeting style. “I’m a water-type and your neighbor.” He gestured to the door behind him, through which slid a Vaporeon, its scales shining in the sun that filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows at either end of the hall. “I’m an old school friend of Katharine’s,” he added, smiling at the evasion of his true identity. Katharine glared at him. Their situation wasn’t funny at all.

“I’m Patrick…a psychic-type,” her father stumbled through his introduction. Humans usually just gave their full names and a firm handshake or hug depending on the social circumstances. Aquapolians, on the other hand, usually introduced themselves by their first name only (in casual situations) or full name (in formal ones) and their particular type. Her father had trouble remembering sometimes that he was a psychic-type, especially because he was a legendary in control of several other elements. She breathed a sigh of relief. It didn’t seem like the conversation was going to escalate to mention anyone’s occupations.

“I’m Katharine’s father,” he added. For the first time ever, he was free to tell whomever he pleased that he was her father. Beforehand, he was not only bound by his occupation, but also her safety against the Shadow Forces. Now that their Shadow Commander was dead, they had ducked into hiding, not daring to start another uprising without demon back up.

Wallace looked down at the PokeAll strapped to his arm and cringed. “I’m sorry, but I need to get to work. Nice meeting you!” He spun around, rushing back into his apartment. Katharine shook her head and turned to their own door, fumbling for her keys. A few seconds later, Wallace burst from his apartment, fully dressed in a suit and tie. “Why am I always late?” He cried, locking his door and rushing for the elevator, his Vaporeon at his heels. Katharine opened their door, nearly tripping over Pika and Umbreon as they hurried inside.

As soon as she entered the apartment, she put her suitcase down on the sofa and ran to the balcony, leaning across the rails to gaze out upon the city. She could see the grand temple of the Cave of Origin in the distance, rising above the skyscrapers around it. She heard her father step up beside her, gaping at the view in front of them.

“There’s the Cave of Origin,” she pointed at the temple in the distance. “It’s bigger on the inside than it is on the outside.”

“Who’s allowed in?”

“Into the inner temple…only legendaries and the Aquapolian Cardinal…”

A knock on their door interrupted her before she could explain anything else. She cast an annoyed glance in the door’s direction as the knocking continued. Who in the world knew that they were there? Unless Wallace had said something to a mutual friend, of which they had many. “I’m coming!” She shouted as the knocking increased in intensity. Whoever it was wanted in badly…

And then her cell phone went off. Groaning, she rushed to the table to scoop it up, Patrick brushing past her to answer the door. He interrupted the guest in mid-knock, an Asian-Aquapolian girl Katharine’s age. Despite the cold weather outside, she was dressed in a pink skirt, black tank top, and pink boots. The only winter clothing she wore was a thing red scarf around her neck. She took one look at him, and he could tell that she instantly thought she had the wrong address.

“Sorry, I’m just looking for a friend of mine…” She started. “Do you happen to know if Katharine McKenna lives in this building.” She glanced toward Wallace’s apartment. “I know she doesn’t live there…”

“Yes, she lives here.” He glanced back to see Katharine hanging up her phone and shaking her head. “May I ask…”

“Oh, yeah!” She smiled. “I’m Dawn, a ghost-type. I’m one of Katharine’s school friends…”

“I’m Patrick, a psychic-type. I’m Katharine’s father.”

Her eyes widened, but her question was cut off by Katharine approaching the door. “Who’s there…Dawn!” She shouted, a big smile spreading across her face. “Where have you been?!”

“In Isshu, of course…”

“How did the Grand Festival go?”

She ducked her head. “I won. Thanks to Leafeon, of course.” She gestured to the grass-type weaving around her legs.

“That’s great! This is your fifth title, right?”

“Yep, one more and I’m going to the Grand Finale Cup. How was the SoulSilver Conference?”

Katharine spun around, nearly crashing into Patrick, who was still standing behind her in the doorway. The two girls had been talking so fast, he hadn’t been able to get out of the way in time before Dawn finished asking her question. He moved back for her to get into the apartment, shooting her an apologetic look. Katharine, who hadn’t heard their introductions earlier, suddenly spun back around. “I’m so sorry! Father, this is Dawn Twinleaf. She’s a friend of mine from school, and we’ve been traveling together for years. Dawn, this is my father, Patrick McKenna.” Spinning back around, she rushed for her suitcase.

“What is the Grand Festival?” Patrick asked as Katharine rummaged around in her large suitcase. Pika tried to get into it, but she pushed him away.

Dawn’s expression was confused for only a fraction of a second before she smiled and explained, “It’s a tournament held in each region annually where coordinators battle for a trophy and a chance to enter the national Grand Festival.” The confused expression returned to her face as it flickered across his at the word “coordinators.” She made a mental note to get details from Katharine. She had spoken occasionally about how she had been adopted into the Catholic Church, but she hadn’t told Dawn that the priest who had adopted her was so young. He was easily only in his early forties. And what was he doing here in Aquapolis? Didn’t he have a high up position in the Vatican?

Before Dawn could ask him any questions, Katharine appeared at the door, holding a large golden trophy laced with silver around its edges. “You got first?!” Dawn squealed, reaching out to take the trophy and examine it. She laughed, rolling her eyes at Katharine’s name etched into the gold. “Of course…What tournament have you not placed first in?” Her eyes widened as she remembered why she had stopped over in the first place. “Speaking of tournaments, did you know that that new stadium is opening today over by the Eastern Mall?”

“No, I didn’t.” Excitement sparked in Katharine’s crystal blue eyes, and Umbreon slid into the hall, its interest piqued by the thought of a tournament. “But…are the sign-ups still open for the mini-tournament?”

“Yup! It doesn’t start for another few hours. Sign-ups are open for another…” She checked the pink PokeAll strapped to her arm. Patrick made a mental note to ask Riley to upgrade the one he had been given six months beforehand. “Hour and a half.”

Katharine glanced at her father, wondering if it was okay to leave him here alone. He didn’t know his way around the city. What if there was an emergency? Maybe she should drag him along with them so that he could see the city? Before she could ask him, he cut her off. “Why don’t you go ahead? I think I can make it to the Hall of Fame on my own.”

Katharine shot him a worried look. “Are you sure?” She didn’t want him getting lost in the winding streets of the Aquapolian capital on his first day there.

“Of course.” He gave her a reassuring smile. “I’ve been given harder tasks than this before.”

I loved the setting of the two main characters there after a 6 month gap, and being able to see how the effects of Angels and Demons were still present and how it had developed them into who they are. I must admit that I feel Katharines busyness may have come down to not wanting to deal with the stress of it all? I may be wrong but she gave off an air of not wanting to remember and just getting on with thinks, linking into why her father didn't know about the info till then. I also loved his development! Well done!

The plot itself was good for a first chapter, really helped get a grasp on where we were and how things had been. I really got to have a sense of development and the story seems to be set up quite well! I'm excited to say the least.

The spelling and grammar was good as usual! No real mistakes at all and your prose was brilliant, flowed really well like you were able to achieve in Angels and Demons. I loved the free feeling that your writing gives off! Descirption in the key areas did pick up, and I must admit, actually one good thing about your writing style is you describe what is necessary but leave everything else up to the reader's imagination and just get with telling the story! That is a very good skill to have to be able to keep telling the story and have every word count.

One mistake however was, you called Pika's carrier blue to begin with I believe and then it changed to green. It was slightly confusing whether you were talking about the same thing or he had changed carrier's. That though, was really the main problem I noticed.

I loved the setting of the two main characters there after a 6 month gap, and being able to see how the effects of Angels and Demons were still present and how it had developed them into who they are. I must admit that I feel Katharines busyness may have come down to not wanting to deal with the stress of it all? I may be wrong but she gave off an air of not wanting to remember and just getting on with thinks, linking into why her father didn't know about the info till then. I also loved his development! Well done!

The plot itself was good for a first chapter, really helped get a grasp on where we were and how things had been. I really got to have a sense of development and the story seems to be set up quite well! I'm excited to say the least.

The spelling and grammar was good as usual! No real mistakes at all and your prose was brilliant, flowed really well like you were able to achieve in Angels and Demons. I loved the free feeling that your writing gives off! Descirption in the key areas did pick up, and I must admit, actually one good thing about your writing style is you describe what is necessary but leave everything else up to the reader's imagination and just get with telling the story! That is a very good skill to have to be able to keep telling the story and have every word count.

One mistake however was, you called Pika's carrier blue to begin with I believe and then it changed to green. It was slightly confusing whether you were talking about the same thing or he had changed carrier's. That though, was really the main problem I noticed.

Well done!

~harryheart

True, I think she's still stressed out about what happened, but I think she's more stressed out about this secret she's hiding.

Whoops! His carrier's supposed to be blue. I'll change that.

Thank you so much! The next chapter will probably not be up until Christmas Break.

This will be most definitely the last chapter before Christmas Break. I've got a rough few weeks ahead of me.

Fact of the chapter: There are two definitions of the Elite Four in Aquapolis. One describes the Elite Four as the four representatives of each region to the Elder Council, which is the legislative branch of the Aquapolian government. The second definition describes the Elite Four as the top four executive positions in Aquapolis, consisting of (in order of increasing power) the Elite Elder, the Aquapolian Cardinal, the Vice-Champion, and the Champion. In this fic, most of the time the Elite Four will refer to the second definition.

Dawn’s intense look of curiosity grew into a festival of hyperness as soon as the elevator doors closed on the two Aquapolian girls. Katharine wondered how her friend could shoot thousands of questions at her without even opening her mouth. As soon as Dawn’s dark blue eyes met her crystal blue ones, the coordinator crossed her arms as if to say that Katharine had some explaining to do.

“What?” Katharine shrugged her shoulders, feigning ignorance, though she knew exactly what Dawn was about to ask. She wanted her friend to articulate her questions before she answered. After the events of six months beforehand, secrets she hadn’t even shared with her best friends were now allowed to become public knowledge.

“Why don’t we start with this…When you told me years ago that you were adopted into the Catholic Church, I instantly thought the priest who adopted you was an old cardinal…How old is he anyway?” Dawn’s voice had climbed to a squeaky frequency and her words tumbled out at an extreme speed.

Katharine looked at her as if she didn’t understand why she was asking the question in the first place. “He’s forty-three. Yeah, he’s the youngest camerlengo ever to serve…and the youngest Aquapolian Cardinal, I believe.”

Dawn gawked at her. “He’s Cardinal Reed’s replacement? Does Eric know this?” Eric Reed was one of Katharine’s closest friends since elementary school. He had come to Rome during the great uproar at the Vatican after news of his grandfather’s death at the hands of the Shadow Forces had reached him in Ever Grande. He was also part of the Legendary Team, a group of individuals who had helped Katharine and her father take down the Shadow Forces and stop them from taking over the Vatican. Obviously, he had seen Dawn in that six-month interval…

“Yeah, he does. He was there when the appointment was announced…” She frowned at Dawn’s semi-pissed off look. “What is it? I know he’s not supposed to tell you what happened…”
“Yeah, but still…” She shuffled her pink-clad feet, trying hard not to look angry at her friend. Katharine’s eyes widened as she realized why Dawn was ticked off at Eric for not telling her anything. A smile crossed her face as she laughed, startling Dawn into actually shooting her a thoroughly pissed look.

“You and Eric are going out now, aren’t you?!” Katharine pressed, knowing it was the truth. For a short time during the chaos that was the war at the Vatican, she and Eric had grown close enough to almost regard each other as dating…but shortly after they had gone their separate ways, they had promised to remain just friends. His asking Dawn out wasn’t unusual. All through high school, it had been apparent that the two Aquapolian teenagers had crushes on each other. Katharine was glad that they had finally gotten together, her heart panging with pain only a little bit as a sharp image crossed her mind. Luckily, Dawn’s voice brought her back to the present.

“Yeah…which is why he should have told me…” She cocked her head to the side, fixing Katharine with her sapphire gaze. She could tell what Dawn was going to ask her next, and she sighed. She knew she could trust Dawn with any secret, but she decided to start with the biggest one first.

“Actually, even though I was adopted…I was also…not adopted at the same time…” Katharine was bad at explaining tough subjects. How exactly was she going to phrase this…?

“So…your being adopted is a paradox?” Dawn crossed her arms against the silky black fabric of her tank top, and Katharine wondered how, even though she was from Sinnoh, she wasn’t freezing in the Ever Grande winter.

“Yeah…well, you see…He’s actually my real father, too…” Katharine cursed every word she stumbled across. Yeah, she was able to make speeches to the Legendary Team to encourage them in the face of peril, but she couldn’t explain to her best friend that the priest who had adopted her years beforehand was actually her father.

Dawn gaped at this for a few seconds, and Katharine wondered if she was actually going to say something before her coordinator friend asked, “Wait…as in your biological father? I thought…”

“Yeah, yeah…he got married and had a kid a few years into his priesthood…Nothing compared to what his brother did…” She decided to plow ahead with a shortened version of her adventures before Dawn went crazy asking questions. “The Shadow Commander decided to attack the Vatican and try to take it over with the help of some demons. We…a group of us called the Legendary Team, fought the demons off and ended up killing the Shadow Commander…which, actually that was Father who killed him. He was his brother, my uncle…Am I confusing you?”

Dawn shook her head. “Naw…it just sounds like you had an interesting summer.”

Katharine smiled as they stepped out of the elevator and into the lobby. “I sure did.”

------------

Patrick stepped into the Hall of Fame’s lobby, gazing up at the high glass ceilings and banners that hung down, each one representing one of the seven regions of Aquapolis. He stepped up to the main desk, where a woman with long black hair and blue eyes typed away furiously at a flat screen computer. She looked up mid-sentence to ask him if he needed anything.

“I want to apply for a trainer’s license.”

“That’s down the hall to your left,” she said, motioning to a corridor at the other side of the lobby.

“Thank you,” he said, walking to the hallway and into a large circular room. A huge circular area of desks sat in the middle of the room, a banner hanging over each section. He found the Ever Grande banner directly in front of the entrance. The woman at this desk had short brown hair and black eyes.

“May I help you?” She asked.

“I’m here to apply for a trainer’s license.”

She nodded, turning back to her computer. “Since you’re from out of the country, you’ll have Ever Grande listed as your region of origin by default. Can I have your name please?”

“Patrick McKenna.”

“Do you have any Pokemon?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Then you’ll only be able to sign up for a preliminary license. You won’t get a full license until you have at least one Pokemon in your possession. Until then, all it will show is your name and your region of origin,” she said, turning to a machine behind her. She picked up a holographic Aquapolian crystal blue card and handed it to him. “All you have to do is bring your Pokemon back to this station and whoever is on duty will sign you up for a full license.”

“Okay, thank you,” he said, gripping the license tightly as he made his way back to the lobby. The woman on duty seemed surprised to see him approach the front desk again.
Apparently, Ever Grande hadn’t even thought to send someone to show the new Aquapolian Cardinal around the Hall of Fame. True, most of the previous Aquapolian Cardinals had been born and raised in Aquapolis, so they knew their way around the country… If Patrick’s getting lost on his first day as Aquapolian Cardinal was any indication of the rest of his career, he wondered if the monks at the Cave of Origin had chosen poorly.

“Good, you made it here on time.”

Patrick was saved the embarrassment of asking where the Hall of the Elite Four was by the dragon-type Elite Elder. In his early sixties, Drake Blackthorn didn’t exactly look like he was an elder. True, his hair had grayed over the past few years, but he seemed far from old enough to receive that title. Patrick had only known him half a year, despite the fact that Drake was his father-in-law.

“I see you’ve received your preliminary license,” the dragon clan leader said as he led Patrick to an elevator on the other side of the lobby. Like all of the other elevators in the city, it was made completely of glass and had an excellent view of the city as they ascended to the Hall of the Elite Four. “Have you decided what Pokemon you’ll train?”

Patrick shook his head. “I haven’t even thought about it, truthfully. I’ve been studying the different species, but I have no clue where to begin…”

Drake laughed and shook his head. “My preference would be a dragon-type, but unless one has been around dragon Pokemon their entire life, I highly recommend not trying to train one as your first Pokemon. They tend to be the most temperamental of Pokemon types…just like the Blackthorn clan itself.”

Patrick nodded and thought of Katharine and Caroline Blackthorn, his wife. A few years after he had joined the church, he met Caroline, who had been granted permission to do research in the Vatican archives. They married a year later in secret, after which Patrick was going to leave the church. Caroline begged him not to, especially after she became pregnant with Katharine. The safest place for them, she believed, was in the church. Unfortunately, his brother killed her six months after Katharine was born. Katharine was almost a younger mirror image of her mother and even more spirited.

“I would suggest starting with one of the starter group of Pokemon out of any of the regions. New Trainers choose them specifically because their species suit a beginning trainer extremely well. You have fifteen to choose from, I believe…if the species list hasn’t changed since I was a beginning trainer decades ago.”

“I’d have to catch one, I suppose…I’d have to borrow one of Katharine’s Pokemon…”

“All you have to do, really, is contact the head professor of one of the regions to receive one of that region’s starters. You know David Rowan, after all. He’s the head professor of Sinnoh. He would gladly give you a Turtwig, Chimchar, or Piplup.” The elevator finally rang out that it had reached their destination. “Here we are…” Drake muttered, stepping through the glass doors. Patrick followed after him, walking into a large circular atrium. Four other doors ringed the walls, leading into corridors that were too dark to see into from where they were standing. Near these doors sat four reception desks with secretaries typing away on flat screen computers at glass desks. In the very middle of the room levitated a large globe with specks of light flying between the different countries. Thousands of dots covered the globe, the concentration thinning out in the Arctic Circle and Antarctica. Directly over the globe hung a huge Aquapolian flag which bore a large sapphire cross on a field of white. Six different color orbs ringed the cross, each one symbolizing the six powers of land, sea, sky, time, space, and dimension.

“The two offices furthest away from us belong to the Champion and Vice-Champion,” Drake explained, motioning to the far doors. “This is my office here to the right, and yours is to the left beside the Vice-Champion’s office.” He smiled as if he had just thought of something funny before turning to the globe in front of them. “This is a virtual map of every Aquapolian in the world. Of course, there are no names to go with the dots. We value the privacy of each individual. All Aquapolians, including those of different countries of origin, are shown on this map.” Predictably, Aquapolis was the brightest country on the map, shining like a star against the dark blue backdrop of the Pacific Ocean.

“Before I show you to your office, the Champion would like to speak with you. Unfortunately, he’s still in the process of choosing a Vice-Champion. As you know, he’s served as interim Champion for the past few years after the disaster that was our last Champion…” Drake scowled.

“Who was the last Champion?” Patrick asked, absentmindedly following the streams of light on the globe that indicated the movement of Aquapolians across the skies to other countries.

“My grandson, Lance. I made the mistake of naming him Vice-Champion late in my own term, and Aquapolis has gone downhill ever since.”

This wrested Patrick’s attention away from the globe. “You were Champion?” He felt completely embarrassed that he didn’t know.

“Yes, back in the nineties. I believe my first year was when Katharine was born.” He glanced over toward a young man dressed in a three-piece suit approached them. Patrick was surprised to see that it was his new neighbor, Wallace. Then, he remembered the news articles he had read about the new Champion back in Rome.

Okay, I know I said I wouldn't have another chapter up before the end of finals, but I've found taking breaks from studying by writing are very relaxing.

Fact of the chapter: The Champion serves as president of Aquapolis, effectively signing legislature and serving as executive head of the country. Unlike the President of the United States, he is not the commander in chief. This title is left to the Vice-Champion. The Champion personally signs all peace treaties with foreign countries and is advised by the Elite Elder. Before being sworn into office, a Champion must choose his or her Vice-Champion to serve during their ten-year term. At the end of this term, the Champion steps down and the Vice-Champion becomes the new leader of Aquapolis.

New Characters: None.

4: A Secret Revealed

As Katharine and Dawn stepped within a few blocks of the new stadium, they ran into a massive crowd of people. It seemed as if every trainer and coordinator in the city had flocked here to compete in the mini-tournament and every battle fan had come to see the competition. Katharine scowled as someone stepped on her foot and bent to pick up her Umbreon in order to save him from being stepped on. Dawn placed her Leafeon on her shoulders, where the grass-type rose up on his haunches to look across the crowd.

“How are we even going to find the sign-in table in this mess?!” Katharine shouted over the roaring crowd. Dawn shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, motioning to the front part of the stadium. She was right. Perhaps the table was in the lobby…the very packed lobby…

They elbowed their way through the crowd, several people turning to glare at them in annoyance. Some of their eyes widened with a flash of recognition. Most of them were startled to see the winners of the current SoulSilver tournament and Isshu Grand Festival here, as if this tournament wasn’t for high-ranking battlers.

In all of this mess, Katharine’s phone started to shriek, causing her to let out a frustrated groan. Hopefully, it was one of her old friends in town trying to meet up rather than her father lost in the metropolis that was Ever Grande.

------------

“We’re actually the youngest Elite Four ever to serve.”

Immediately after Drake introduced Patrick to Wallace, the young Champion led them into his office, a glass-lined room with a clear view of the sprawling city below them. One glance told Patrick that the Cave of Origin was in clear sight from here, though the Champion wouldn’t be able to see its true form.

“My Vice-Champion won’t be announced until the inauguration in January, but she’s the youngest of us,” Wallace said, tilting back in his desk chair. “While we’ve gotten skeptical responses from even our closest human ally states, they’re hoping we’ll be able to rebuild Aquapolis’ trade and economy after what happened during the last Champion’s term.”

Patrick turned from the window to shoot a confused look at him. “What exactly happened during the last Champion’s term?”

Before Wallace could speak, Drake cut in. “Lance, the last Champion, decided to cut off all ties to the human states early in his term, tearing apart peace treaties and even starting several fights amongst delegates from Japan and the United States, our two biggest allies. His biggest mistake, however, was choosing his cousin Clair to serve as his Vice-Champion. She almost had the armies of Aquapolis marching on several smaller human states before the Elder Council stepped in and impeached both of them five years into their term. That’s when they placed Wallace in power to serve the rest of the term as interim Champion…”

“And, apparently, since I didn’t burn down the entire country, I was named the official Champion last year and am to serve a full term starting in January,” Wallace cut in, shaking his head. “I took on both the job of the Champion and Vice-Champion for a while, but now that I’ll be officially the leader…my named Vice-Champion will be allowed to serve in her position as well.” He glanced at his watch.

“Wallace has kept his choice of Vice-Champion secret from everyone,” Drake said to Patrick. “Including the Elder Council and myself. He insists it’s for safety reasons, but I don’t see how that has anything to do with it…”

A tone sounded from the intercom implanted into Wallace’s desk, and he pressed a button near the speaker. His secretary’s voice filtered out as she spoke, “Champion Sootopolis, your Vice-Champion is here to see you now.” A large grin spread across Wallace’s face, and, for a split-second, Patrick thought the young Champion would burst into laughter.

“Great! Send her in!” He said, lifting his finger from the button and springing from his chair. Wallace’s office was huge, with a long glass conference table sitting in the middle of the room and stretching from the glass doors to his desk. The modern feel of the Hall of Fame was quite different from what Patrick was used to in the Vatican, which contained mostly antique wood furniture and centuries old tapestries hanging over well-worn marble in the hallways.

A sound of boots hitting the wood floor of the office’s entryway reached their ears, and for a moment, Patrick believed he was hallucinating when the Vice-Champion stepped into the room. She was dressed in a long, Aquapolian blue military uniform that spread towards the floor. If she hadn’t been wearing black boots with tall heels in which were stuffed a plain pair of black pants, her coat would have drug across the wooden floor. Numerous bars decorated her breast pocket, shining from the light given off by her Aquapolian pendent.

Standing taller with a serious look on her face, she was even more intimidating than she had been during her battles with demons, during which she had transformed into her true angelic form. She looked the exact picture of a tough military leader through and through.

Patrick almost fooled himself into thinking that the commander in front of him wasn’t his daughter until Wallace spoke up, an obviously gleeful smile spread across his face at Drake and Patrick’s reaction to her entrance.

“May I introduce my Vice-Champion, Katharine McKenna.”

------------

Drake’s look of utter shock came nowhere close to the expression that crossed her father’s face when she entered.

She tried to keep herself from loosing the calm façade she had built up on her way to the Hall of Fame after Wallace summoned her oh-so-unexpectedly before she could even reach the new stadium tournament. She was slightly mad at her old friend for keeping her away from what could have been a welcome break from serious tournaments.

But after taking one look at Patrick, she felt her coolness slipping. He had never gained the dark intimidation that his brother had brought with him wherever he went, but Katharine knew from experience that, when her father got mad, despite his occupation, he was the most terrifying person in the room. His expression of shock had morphed into confusion and finally into the most pissed-off look that she had seen on his face since Hastings decided to burst into the Sistine Chapel and declare his brother as the new pope.

She knew she had a lot of explaining to do. She thanked God when Wallace picked up on the anger practically emanating from Patrick (who was trying hard not to look angry) and launched into a somewhat stilted explanation.

“As I told Drake before, we had to keep the identity of the Vice-Champion a secret from pretty much everyone. Only Katharine and I knew of her appointment…”

“How long ago did you name her as Vice-Champion?” Drake asked, the shocked look having dropped off his face, and a look of curiosity replacing it. Katharine felt a flicker of hope rush through her. Drake didn’t look as if he disapproved of Wallace’s choice. In fact, the great dragon master, leader of the Blackthorn clan, seemed very much content with this appointment. Katharine wondered slightly if his approval spawned from the fact that now two full-fledged members of the Blackthorn clan were members of the Elite Four.

“When I was appointed Champion by the Elder Council,” Wallace replied.

“And you’ve managed to keep this a secret for years?” Drake laughed.

“Hey, now! What makes you think it was that hard…?”

Patrick cleared his throat, and Katharine breathed a sigh of relief as Wallace stood up straight and put his serious face on. “Our first day will be tomorrow. Luckily, I’ve set up some advisors to help Katharine and Patrick since y’all aren’t as familiar with your Elite Four positions…”

“And what about you?” Katharine asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Drake will be advising me, of course.” Wallace spun around toward his desk. “Your advisors won’t be here for another week, so we’ll just hold meetings to go over an assessment of Aquapolis’ position until they do.” He turned back around. “In the meantime, I’d like to speak to my Vice-Champion alone.”

Patrick shot Katharine a worried look before he left the room with Drake. She sighed as she stepped forward to speak with Wallace. “You should have let me told him a long time ago.”

“Yeah, but…”

“It wasn’t as if he was part of the Shadow Forces. In fact, it was the exact opposite,” she said, interrupting him.

“I’d actually like to know the full details of what happened last summer…”

“Why is that…?”

“From the small details I have heard…it’s going to be regarded as a state secret.”

“So…we’re not supposed to tell anyone?”

“No one except those you trust.”

Katharine sighed and crossed her arms. “I’m in a lot of trouble now because of you.”

Wallace grinned. “As if you haven’t caused a lot of trouble by yourself?”

Katharine rolled her eyes and spun around, exiting the Champion’s office with a huff.

------------

Instead of walking home with her father, Katharine left early to meet back up with Dawn at the new stadium. The tournament was almost over with by the time she reached it, so she hung around outside, hoping to catch Dawn as she exited.

“There you are!”

She spun around to see Dawn looking at her with fake anger and tapping her pink boots on the road’s surface. She crossed her arms and tilted her head, sending Katharine a questioning look as she appraised her attire. Katharine cringed.

“I’m sorry. My work called me in earlier than I expected…”

“And who exactly are you working for? The military?” She raised her eyebrows. “You never took me as someone to join the forces…”

“Well, they kind of are, seeing how secret y’all are keeping last summer’s activities.”

Katharine rolled her eyes again. “Let’s head by my place before we grab something to eat. I don’t want to be walking around in this all day.”

Her father hadn’t made it back to their apartment yet when Dawn and Katharine arrived. Katharine breathed a sigh of relief before she stepped into her room to change, leaving Dawn to pet Pika in the living room. She had just taken off her coat when a flash of pink caught her attention. Looking up at the glass doors to her own balcony, she caught sight of a flying pink Pokemon that immediately darted out of her vision. She raced to the balcony, looking in all directions. The Pokemon was nowhere in sight.

She frowned, instantly realizing who had been spying on her. “Mew…?”

Once she finished changing, she stepped back into the living room. “What’s wrong?” Dawn asked. Katharine’s startled face had turned into one of shock. The last time she had seen a legendary Pokemon had been during the events of the previous summer. All of her experiences with other legendaries…had foretold disaster.

Despite Mew’s appearance, the legendary of genetics may very well have been a bad omen.

A very late review *apologetically gives puppy dog eyes* please forgive me! But I'm very glad I've got round to reading it now!

Must say I absoloutely loved the characters in this, I've not read anything besides Angels and Demons and a little of Shadow and Light and Aftermath so I've never encountered these characters before, and I'm amazed at how the portrail of them here was so vivid. Although we weren't overthrown with description or personality traits, I managed to picture everything perfectly due to their actions and what they were saying. I really feel I have an initial grasp of these characters and that's definitely a big congratulations on your part for being able to portray them so well in their short little appearances.

I also loved Patrick here! Wonderful portrayl of his constant confusion! Added a nice relief of excitement and humour here, especially needed after the dark ending to Angels and Demons! Really good character development there and more depth explored is always appreaciated by the reader! I can't wait to see more of him and how he fits into his role and job! I think it'll be a laugh!

I'm excited to see more about Wallace and his relation to Katharine, their history ect. and why Katharine is so worried about who he really is and her father finding out! BF? maybe not lol! And I'm intriguied by her job! All stuff I can't wait to find out!

You do an amazing job as always! Great characters, great plot enhancement and your description is ever improving with your flow of writing! A great combination! You always leave us in suspense!

And, to you, harryheart, and any closet readers out there, I must apologize for this extremely late chapter. While I have had plenty of time over my Christmas Break to write, I have also had plenty of time to do other things as well...things that have distracted me from my work.

Anyway, to make up for this delay, I have written a chapter that is twice as long than usual as kind of a Christmas and New Year's present as well as to celebrate this being the first chapter of 2012!

Fact of the Chapter: The Vice-Champion is chosen by each Champion to serve at the beginning of the ten-year term. Once those ten years are up, the Vice-Champion becomes the new Champion. The Vice-Champion oversees the minor Champions of each region as well as the minor Elite Four. Most importantly of all, the Vice-Champion is the commander-in-chief of Aquapolis’ military.

New characters: Note here, I've decided to also include pictures of characters from Angels and Demons as well for those of you who don't know what they look like. So, I'm going back to include some from previously. I've always figured Katharine as a live-action version of an anime character, so I don't have an actress assigned to her.

The view from his office was just as spectacular as the view from their new apartment. The city of Ever Grande seemed even vaster up here, where the offices of the Elite Four were at a greater height than their home. Everything in his office was made of glass and a dark mahogany, complete with chairs, a desk, and wood bookshelves. They were completely empty, but Drake assured him that they would be full soon. Patrick didn’t know where he was going to get enough books to fill them.

While he enjoyed the feel of his new office, he was still in shock over Wallace’s revelation of his Vice-Champion. In fact, this had been another rude awakening to Patrick that he knew next to nothing about Katharine’s life here in Aquapolis. Her friends, her classmates, even her enemies and rivals were unknown to him. Out of the two friends he had met so far, both of them had proven to be nice and polite, but they were vastly different. A coordinator and the Champion of Aquapolis.

Katharine had returned home before him, anxious to change out of her military uniform, no doubt. He had wanted to stop her and speak with her before she left, but he was afraid that she felt he was extremely angry with her. He wasn’t angry…he was just shocked and sort of mad that he didn’t know beforehand. But, Wallace was right. Up until last summer, even Patrick had kept from Katharine the fact that she was his biological daughter, telling her for years that he had adopted her from an orphanage in Rome. He couldn’t blame the new Champion for trying to keep secrets in order to keep Katharine safe. Patrick had been doing that for years.

The only thing that unnerved him was the fact that Katharine would now be in charge of a full-fledged military. True, she had been the unofficial leader of the Legendary Team during the attack on the Vatican, but this was vastly different. The only thing that gave him solace was that Aquapolis was never at war. If it was, it meant that another nation would soon no longer exist on the planet.

After a few hours of staring out of his office windows at the setting sun, Patrick decided to call Katharine and make sure she had arrived home safely. The first few seconds after she picked up told him she was no longer at home. It seemed as if she were in the middle of a huge mob.
“Hello?!” Katharine shouted. Patrick winced and held the phone away from his ear for a second. “Hello?!” She shouted again. He cringed and held the phone back to his ear.

“Oh! Father!” She held the phone away from her for a few minutes, and he could hear her speaking in rapid Japanese to someone beside her. He could hear her standing up and retreating to someplace quieter. He sighed with relief when she answered the phone in a softer voice. “Father? Are you still there?”

“Yes, Katharine, where are you?”

“I’m at a restaurant downtown with Dawn, Eric, and a few of my high school friends.” He could hear her shuffling her feet. “I’m sorry I stormed out earlier.”

“Please, Katharine…you don’t have to apologize. I understand why you had to keep it a secret.” He made a mental note to speak with her more thoroughly sometime in the next few days. He wanted to know more about her life here in Aquapolis than a few random and sparse facts. This was due mostly to his slight fear of discovering that she was a completely different person than he had known for the past fourteen years.

Katharine’s life in Aquapolis wasn’t the only reason he was fearful. The previous summer, on a few separate occasions, in order to defeat the two demons who threatened to bring the Vatican to its knees, Katharine had undergone a powerful transformation into her true, angelic form. To anyone who had seen this, she had also undergone a personality change.

“Really?” Katharine murmured.

“Yes, Katharine…I’ll see you when you get home.”

He could almost see her smiling on the other end of the phone. “Okay. Bye, Father!”

“Bye, Katharine.” He hung up, swinging around to take another look across the skyline of Ever Grande and toward the Cave of Origin.

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“Who was that?” Eric asked when she returned to their table, scooting into her seat beside Dawn.

“That was Father, asking to know where I was and if I was okay.”

“How did he take the news?”
She shrugged. “He took it pretty badly at first, but he doesn’t stay angry for long.”

Eric shook his head. “Man, I only saw him angry one time, and, let me tell you, he was pretty scary.”

“When was that?”

“When Hastings interrupted the conclave…while they made their way into the basilica to fight, I caught a bit of their argument. I guess they really hated each other.”

“They represented darkness and light, Eric. What else did you expect?”

Dawn held up her hand for them to stop talking. After Eric and Katharine had filled her in on almost all of the details of the previous summer’s events, she had been asking question after question about every minute detail, wanting to know everything. Katharine didn’t blame her. To an outsider, it was a fantastical and exciting story, but to Katharine and Eric, whose lives were in peril many times over the course of the summer, the story was their own personal experiences and struggles with themselves.

“Okay…let met get this straight. So…this is what happened last summer, right?” She took a deep breath, and Katharine’s eyes widened. Was she really going to try to cram all of last summer’s events into one quick synopsis? The moment Dawn started to speak, both Eric and Katharine groaned. “The Aquapolian Cardinal was murdered the night before the conclave to elect the next pope. Then, the following day, six other cardinals go missing and clues are left that point to the six elements of Aquapolian science. Some symbologist guy gets called in from Harvard, and you help him track down a few of the cardinals before Rowan and Eric show up to help track down the last three. Then, after doing this, you discover that some antimatter bomb has been hidden in the Vatican. When you find it, your dad gets rid of it himself and then y’all discover some big bad demon is going to try and take down the Vatican himself. So, Katharine, you go Super Saiyan on his *** and destroy him. A few days later, your big bad uncle shows up and makes you burn a really creepy looking star into the basilica floor, and this Legendary Team gets called to investigate. Before we know it, there’s a plague killing all the humans across the globe, the Shadow Forces are attacking the Vatican with a new demon buddy, and your dad and uncle have to deal with some sibling rivalry issues that comes down to them being the legendaries Reshiram and Zekrom. Oh, not to mention, you kick another demon’s *** and six of the Legendary Team members get to use the six powers to kick Shadow Follower ***. Finally, a new Aquapolian pope is elected and your dad becomes Aquapolian Cardinal. The end, and everyone is happy, except your dad ends up killing your uncle.”

Eric and Katharine stared at Dawn as she tried to catch her breath, proud of herself for running through and remembering the whole story. Eric groaned as she put up her hand again. “And, let’s not forget the part where he tells you that he’s not, in fact, your adopted dad, but your real, biological dad and that your mother was a member of the Blackthorn clan, making you granddaughter of their leader and the current Elite Elder.” She smiled big, placing her hands in her lap. “Did I remember everything correctly?” She asked sweetly, taking a sip of her Coke, her eyes dashing from Katharine to Eric to gauge their responses.

When Katharine finally shook herself out of the sound shock of Dawn’s synopsis, she raised her glass, laughing. “Better than any author, Dawn. Really.” Dawn rolled her eyes and laughed. Katharine could feel the stress that had built up since the previous summer start to melt away. With no tournament to compete in and no demons to destroy, life had finally settled down. Now, her only challenge was to help run a country and an army. Well, that beat protecting the Vatican any day.

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When Katharine arrived back at the apartment later that night, she was surprised to see that her father had literally passed out on the couch. She sighed. He was probably getting the best sleep he had gotten in twenty years after his first day as Aquapolian Cardinal and his first day in Aquapolis. For her entire life, her father had worried over and fought to make sure that she was safe. He had had to deal the previous summer with allowing her to fight on her own and protect herself.

Umbreon swept into the apartment at her heels, jumping onto the back of the couch and nearly flipping right over onto Patrick. The force of his hitting the furniture woke Patrick up with a start, and the dark-type stared down innocently at him with blood red eyes. “Umbreon!” Katharine scolded him, scooping him up just as Pika jumped to join him on the back of the sofa. “Sorry about that, Father…”

“No…No, it’s fine,” Patrick said, sitting up and turning toward her just as Umbreon leaped from her arms and onto the floor, sliding a bit on the wood before racing into Katharine’s room. Pika curled up in one of the chairs near the sliding balcony doors, trying not to make any noise. Katharine’s eyes went to the glass doors, and she suddenly remembered what had happened before she and Dawn had left the apartment earlier that evening. Worry must have flooded her eyes, because, after a few moments, her father asked her, “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head, trying to make the image of the legendary of genetics leave her mind’s eye. “I thought I saw Mew outside my balcony today…” She muttered. “Maybe it was just a mirage.” She smiled at the thought, yawning. “I think I’m going to go to bed now. I have to go in to work tomorrow.”

“Good night,” he said as she stepped into her room. Umbreon jumped up onto a footstool beside him, staring at him with his red eyes. He sighed. “I have a lot of Pokemon to get used to being around, don’t I?” For a second, he thought that the dark-type had smiled, but only temporarily before the Pokemon curled up and went to sleep, snoring soundly.

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Commander Frank Hummel walked through life rarely scared by anything. Several tours in Vietnam had hardened his heart toward cold and bloody death in the heat of battle. He had overcome amazing circumstances, including one or two helicopter crashes over enemy lines and being taken as a POW for a short period of time. Yet, when the Summer Plague (as it was now being called by all human nations) swept through America, practically decimating forty percent of its population, Hummel had to sit back and be afraid of something for once in his life.

He could count himself as a lucky or unlucky survivor. True, he had never contracted the disease and had lived to tell the tale. But…the cost had been great. As he sat in his office, he mulled over the past few months’ events, trying to organize his thoughts and emotions. He had tried to rid emotion from his body during his work…but this…this was a cause close to heart.

“We only have two names, sir.” A man at least half his age stood near the window, looking over a small file held in a manila envelope. “But the real heart of the matter lies in the events of last summer. We’ve traced the epicenter of activity back to the night a bomb nearly blew up the Vatican on the very day of conclave…but that’s as far as we’ve gotten.”

“That’s all?” Hummel asked in disbelief. The CIA was expert at digging up far more information than that in any case. The fact that this particular incident’s details had become elusive to pretty much every intelligence agency on the planet had to have garnered some attention from other human states. He leaned back in his seat, thinking over the few details he had command of. “What did the eyewitness reports say about how the bomb was…thwarted?” The antimatter bomb that exploded over the sky of Rome had not been deactivated for some unknown reason. Of course, whoever had found it probably had run into trouble turning the thing off.

“Well, as stated on the news, they say one of the priests actually flew that helicopter himself…and then parachuted out of it.”

Hummel’s eyebrows shot up, and, for the first time in ages, he could feel a disbelieving smile stretching across his face. “Really? Well, why aren’t we enlisting these priests into our special forces?”

The man laughed slightly. “In fact, as released by the Vatican and by the Aquapolian news, the priest was the camerlengo and new Aquapolian Cardinal, Father Patrick McKenna.” He seemed to not catch Hummel’s slight reaction to the name as he pressed on. “If anyone would know what happened that day…”

“It would be him…” Hummel muttered to himself, his gaze setting off into space once again as he thought through all of his options. Approaching the Aquapolian Cardinal on this matter was dicey. He could let it slip to the Champion about the CIA’s poking around in what must now be called an Aquapolian state secret. No…What Hummel needed to do was to approach him in a laid-back setting… “The inauguration ball in a few weeks would prove a perfect opportunity for me to introduce myself, don’t you think?”

The man winced. “I don’t know, sir. It seems a bit risky.”

“Nonsense. We’re the CIA. We do risky things all the time. Besides, once I buy myself an in with diplomacy, I can gauge whether or not I should approach him with our questions.” He leaned back in his chair, muttering, “Though the last thing I want to do is meet face-to-face with the Champion during this awkward year…”

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“Who do you think Wallace is going to set up as your advisor?” Dawn asked, keeping in stride with Katharine and Patrick as they made their way to work the following morning.

Katharine shrugged. “Knowing Wallace, it could be anyone in the Elite Four, maybe even one of the older gym leaders.”

“What about one of the former Champions? Like…Steven Stone? Didn’t you battle him once or twice over the years?”

“Yes, and I don’t think we’d be a good match. He’s probably content with staring at his rock collection now that he’s retired…”

Dawn slowed to a stop beside the contest hall. “I’ll be in training all day. Call me if you want to meet up later. Bye!” She rushed inside, her Leafeon on her heels.” Katharine and Patrick continued walking.

“He doesn’t hate me or anything, but Wallace has always challenged me in everything. In my training, in my schoolwork…He’ll probably assign me an advisor I can’t get along with just to see how I overcome that obstacle during my term.”

They reached the Hall of Fame, stepping into the main floor where the Elite Four’s offices were held. Wallace was standing outside of his office, talking to his secretary and gesturing wildly. Drake entered the floor behind them, shooting Wallace an amused look. “He’s preparing for the inauguration ball. I’m afraid formal events are a bit out of his reach…”

Katharine laughed. “I’ll say…”

“I heard that!” Wallace called, not taking his eyes off of the sheet of paper in front of him. Katharine smirked and stepped into her office, running a hand over the glass desk.

Outside, Wallace finished speaking with his secretary and stepped forward to talk to Patrick. “Your advisor should be here within the next few hours. Hopefully, he won’t be any later than that.” He shot a look at Katharine’s office door. “And hers should be here in the next half hour if all goes according to plan.”

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“Did she tell you that I was going to set her up with an advisor she didn’t like?”

“Your advisor has arrived, Miss McKenna. Would you like me to send him in?”

Katharine sat up straighter. “Yes, please. Thank you.”

A few moments later, a man with grey and white hair stepped into her office. He wore a suit and carried only a small ledger to write in. Katharine froze, gripping her desk so tightly, it almost shattered from the energy pulsing from her hands.

He smiled slightly and spoke in a British accent. “Why, hello Katharine. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

------------

Patrick and Drake both sat at the conference table in Wallace’s office, the dragon master going over some of the major points of Aquapolian government when Katharine burst in, her eyes sparking with anger and energy as she swept across the room to where Wallace was sitting at his desk, glaring down at him until he looked up.

“Is there a problem, Katharine?” He asked, trying to contain a smile.

“Yes.” She said shortly, crossing her arms. “There is a huge problem.” She leaned in closer, placing her hands on Wallace’s desk. Her voice lowered, but it was still loud enough for Drake and Patrick to hear where they sat. “I don’t know if this is some kind of joke, Wallace, but it’s not funny.”

“No, of course it’s not…” Wallace said, still smirking to keep back the laughter.

She reared back. “I’m NOT working with him,” she said firmly, swinging around and marching toward the door. Patrick was surprised at Katharine’s tantrum. She had never acted like this before.

“Actually, you WILL be working with him,” Wallace replied, the smile disappearing off his face. Katharine turned back to him as he continued. “You need someone to challenge you. He’s the one who can make that happen. You have the leadership skills, but you’re not running a tiny militia force here, Katharine. You’re running a full military and co-running a country. This is probably the second most important job for you in your life…I’ve known you long enough that you’ll treat it as you have your position as the Chosen One. All I’m asking is that you take as much help as you can get…just as you did last summer.”

With his speech over with, he returned his focus back to the documents spread across his desk, completely ignoring his Vice-champion for the time being. Katharine took a deep breath, partly encouraged and partly embarrassed by Wallace’s words. She was encouraged and strengthened by the fact that he had so much confidence in her, but embarrassed that she had thrown a fit in front of her grandfather, and, worst of all, her father. She nodded, leaving the room in silence and calmly walking back to her office, head held high in order to tackle whatever ordeal her new advisor sent her way.

Back in Wallace’s office, both Drake and Patrick turned toward Wallace, a thousand questions buzzing through their mind. The Champion tried to focus on his papers for a few moments before he broke down and looked up in mock confusion. “What? What did I do?”

“Who is this new advisor you set up for Katharine?” Drake asked, beating Patrick to his first question. The priest had never seen his daughter throw a fit before and was still in shock. She had always been above acting in such a manner. Whoever this advisor was, his appointment must have had a drastic influence on her reaction.

Wallace leaned back in his seat. “His name is Dr. Alexander Walker. He taught physics at our high school for years before retiring last year. Katharine was in the last class that he taught. Before you say anything, he worked here in the Hall of Fame for years before getting his doctorate and going into the world of academia, so he knows his stuff about Aquapolian government…”

“Wallace,” Drake cut him off, an exasperated look on his face. “We really just want to know why Katharine had such a negative reaction to him.”

“Well, that’s simple.” Wallace leaned forward, placing both of his arms on his desk. “Excuse my language here, Patrick, but Walker literally gave Katharine hell throughout the entire class. You know how intelligent she is. She sailed through pretty much every class at our school…But Walker wanted to challenge her. He thought she had more potential than what he saw in the classroom. So, he gave her extra assignments, extra class hours, and pretty much bullied her in class every day to prove the point that she still hadn’t reached that threshold yet.” He smiled, obviously proud of himself. “Now, you see…this appointment was perfect for her…”

“You’re a genius, Wallace,” Drake said sarcastically. “He’s a good appointment, but this isn’t a classroom where the worst consequence is merely failing a course. This is the Vice-championship, where the running of a military and country are at center stage.”
“I know that, Drake. I’m confident Katharine will pull through with this. Plus…” He paused, trying to put into words his scrambled thoughts. “She’ll eventually be Champion. Just think…the Chosen One leading our country.”

“Let’s hope that isn’t an omen for what’s to come,” Patrick said, rising from his seat. “I believe my advisor is due any moment now, so I should return to my office.”

------------

When Katharine stepped back into her office, embarrassment flared inside her again. Without one word to Walker, she had stormed out on her former teacher and immediately ran to Wallace like some sort of spoiled child. True to fashion, the former physics professor had remained in her office, simply taking in the view of the Ever Grande skyline. She cleared her throat, struggling to find words to put her thoughts in order. Walker, as always, beat her to it.

“I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to speak to you on the last day of my class,” he said, his eyes not leaving the scenery in front of him. A Taillow swept by, making its way further south towards the Orange Archipelago, as its species usually did that time of year. Katharine busied herself walking back to her desk and shuffling papers around before she answered.

“I…I had to leave for a conference that day, and…since you let me take my final early…” She stammered, trying to form a coherent sentence. She wanted to apologize, even through all of the anger she had felt at him over the past few years. “I’m sorry.”

“Please.” He held up a hand to wave away her apology. “Tournaments were your passion and always were. Tell me.” He fixed his steel grey gaze on her, and memories of sitting in his classroom, enduring daily sneering questions flooded back into her mind. “How did you figure out that your opponent’s Psyshock was going to backfire in the final round?”

Katharine stared at him, hardly believing her ears. Walker had watched her last battle in the SoulSilver conference? Then again, she always remembered him keeping up with her tournament wins back when she was in school, so it wasn’t that odd…but, still…Then, she realized what his question really was getting at. Stumbling through the many points of knowledge she still held from his class, she blurted out, “I paid attention to which direction the air waves around his Reuniclus were moving. The trainer had been sloppy and had taught this move to his Pokemon right before the battle, so it still didn’t know how to expel the psychic energy from its body in the right direction…”

“Just your luck that you were battle on a grass field on which it was easy to pick up shifts in the air on, wasn’t it?” Walker interrupted. “Well, at least I see that my class helped you to better your training career, though it didn’t last too long past graduation…” He frowned. “Everyone was hoping that you would stay on the tournament circuit as a permanent career, of course.”

Katharine couldn’t believe her ears. This was a different Walker than she had known a few years previously. When she was a student, he was a downright jerk to her, but now…he seemed rather nice and pleasant, a side of the professor that she had never seen before. She looked down at her hands clinched into fists in her lap. She was reacting off of memories, not out of the present. Walker had changed so much…or was it because he was no longer a teacher pushing Katharine to the edge?

She mentally shook her head to clear her mind of all of these doubts flying around. If Walker had decided to put the past in the past…well, she was going to do so as well…for the sake of Aquapolis. She straightened up in her chair again, more confident than ever that things would work out. They simply HAD to, and she would make them if she must. “There were a few…” She squirmed in her seat. “…happenings that also slowed down my career beyond this appointment, I guess.” She fiddled with a piece of paper. Wallace and Drake had been filled in with what had happened the previous summer, and Dawn had been confided to because she was a trusted friend. But…was Walker supposed to be let in on this information? Again, what he said next surprised her.

“To embark on a journey around Jhoto…or any region, for that matter…after experiencing what you did last summer was extraordinary,” he muttered, turning back to the window. Katharine gripped her desk again. Not only did he know about the battle at the Vatican, but…he was flat out telling her that he admired her ability to pick herself back up and continue life after what had happened. What he didn’t know was the intense struggle…Her father hadn’t wanted her to leave for Jhoto at first, then realized that it was the best therapy out there for her after facing down two demons and dealing with everything else that came with that war.

Katharine cleared her throat, embarrassed by this small gesture of kindness from her former teacher. She hoped that they would embark on another subject altogether, like surveying the damage done by the last Vice-Champion and remedying any problems that lay at the regional levels first. This would involve calling in the Champion from each region and discussing current issues first before gathering the six together to form a master plan of attack.

“This isn’t going to be an easy task, even for you,” Walker said simply, turning away from the window and opening his ledger. “Might I suggest we run over the shortfalls of the last Champion and Vice-Champion’s term? They…are plentiful,” he said, running his gaze down what had to be an extremely long list contained on one sheet of paper. Katharine grimaced. Talking about Lance Blackthorn, her cousin on her mother’s side of the family, was going to be quite a treat, especially now that he was a newfound relative of hers.

“Well, we might as well get the worst of it out of the way first,” she muttered, leaning back in her chair. “Do tell me, Professor…how in the world did Lance manage not to completely bring our country to its knees during his short and fiery term as Champion?”

I've started back to school, so chapters will resume their usual length of six pages on MS Word. For now, expect more updates over the weekend.

Fact of the Chapter: The Aquapolian Cardinal serves as the representative of the Aquapolian church to the Vatican. The position has been recognized on and off by the Catholic Church over the centuries, depending on whether or not the current pope favors the Aquapolian race in general. In Aquapolis, the Cardinal serves as the religious and ethical leader, performing Mass in the Hearthome Cathedral on every religious holiday. He also serves as an ambassador for Aquapolis to other nations as a sign of the peace treaty formed with each human state. His most important role is as the communicator with the legendaries in the Cave of Origin. He is the only mortal allowed past the shrine at the front of the Cave, listening to new prophecies and suggestions given by each legendary. The office of Aquapolian Cardinal is a lifetime appointment, and he is regarded as the third highest in the power structure of Aquapolian government.

When Patrick stepped back into his office, he was surprised to see a young man with sandy brown hair standing and staring out of the floor-to-ceiling windows. He wore a simple black suit and had a messenger bag slung over his shoulder. Before Patrick could speak, the young man whistled. “This is quite a view that you’ve got here. You can see the Cave of Origin in all its glory from here.” He spun around, a large smile plastered across his face. His eyes were a deep grey, and he looked to be around Katharine’s age. When he saw the confusion on Patrick’s face, he stepped forward to shake his hand. “You must be the new Aquapolian Cardinal…um…” He was having trouble recalling his name. “Patrick…McKenna…?”

“Yes…” Patrick was thoroughly confused as he shook the young man’s hand. “And you are…?”

The young man stood up straight, looking taller, though he was about Patrick’s height. “I am your new advisor, Colin Brown.” He bowed. “At your service.” In a second, he snapped back up and spun around, taking in the empty bookshelves. “You’re going to have those filled up in no time, no doubt,” he laughed, stepping back towards the window. “This will be fun. I guess I can brag that I was advisor to the only legendary Aquapolian Cardinal. That will shut Virizion up. She’s always bragging about being the advisor to the very first Cardinal.”

Patrick was having a hard time processing everything that was going on. “I…don’t understand.”

Colin slowed down enough to turn around and stand still for a second. “Well, you see, every advisor to the Aquapolian Cardinal ever has been a legendary that’s already gone through what we call the reincarnation process. I’m sure you’re familiar with it. Every legendary spends at least one mortal lifespan on Earth. For instance, you’re in your reincarnation period now, as is Quamachi. I underwent my reincarnation period about…four hundred, no, five hundred years ago.”

“You’re a legendary.”

“Yes. My real name is Cobalion, the legendary of the iron sword.”

“I’m sorry, you just are…”

“Younger than you’d expected?” Colin grinned. “Our mortal and immortal lives tend to reflect each other. We take on the appearance of the age at which we died in our mortal lives. Anyway…”

“Sir? The Vice-Champion is here to see you,” the intercom buzzed.

“Okay…send her in…”

Katharine stepped into the room, shooting Colin a confused glance before saying, “I think Wallace wants to have a meeting with the four of us and our advisors in about half an hour.”

“Long time, no see,” Colin said, his face growing serious.

Katharine shot him a puzzled look. “Do I…know you?”

“You used to know me. We went by different names back then. I’m Reshi…I’m the Aquapolian Cardinal’s advisor, Colin Brown. Also known to others as Cobalion.”

“You’re a legendary?” She gaped.

“Yup.” He nodded his head enthusiastically.

“So…who is allowed to know this?”

He shrugged. “It’s a well-known fact that the Aquapolian Cardinal’s advisor is a legendary, so…I guess everyone.”

Katharine shook her head. “This day keeps on getting more and more interesting.” She turned to leave.

“Has Mew been to see you yet?”

She froze at Colin’s question, her hand barely touching the doorknob as she swung around. “How did you know Mew came to see me?”

“She’s been talking non-stop about how you’re now living in Ever Grande…” Colin trailed off, a serious look on his face. “When you get a chance to come down to the Cave of Origin, we have a problem we need you to address.”

“Me?” Katharine asked, a confused look on her face.

“Yes, you,” he laughed.

She shook her head and left. Colin watched her go before turning to Patrick. “So, I heard you’ve never been in Aquapolis before a few days ago. Let’s take a field trip.”

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“He wants to go around all seven regions? Do you know how long that will take?” Katharine asked, appalled.

“He said that he’ll only make short trips of it. Two hours a day,” Patrick replied.

“He can’t teleport. He’s not a psychic, ghost, or dark-type.”

“But, I can.”

“You don’t know where you’re going.”

“But, he does.”

Katharine groaned, putting her head in her hands. Pika tilted his head to the side, studying her with interest. “I swear, if he gets y’all lost.”

“What makes you think that he’ll get us lost?”

“I don’t know…” She sighed. “Something tells me this may not be the safest trip you’ll ever take.” She lifted her head and looked down at the kitchen table. “When are you going to the Cave of Origin?”

“Not until after we’re inaugurated. I can’t get in past the temple until then.”

“You could…”

“But, I’d rather wait.”

“I wonder what kind of problem Colin was talking about…It didn’t sound too urgent…” She sighed. “I have a lot to do before the inauguration ball next weekend…”

Patrick groaned. “Is that next weekend?”

She nodded. “We’re all supposed to attend. The heads of state for our major three allies will be there.”

“All three of them are human states, aren’t they?”

Katharine shook her head. “Japan is our number one ally and the only other Aquapolian state in the world. America and England are both human states.”

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“I say we start our field trips, today,” Colin said when Patrick came in to work the next morning.

“Shouldn’t we be getting ready for this weekend?”

Colin rolled his eyes. “We don’t do anything at the ball. We just talk to foreign diplomats and make sure we don’t insult anyone or anything like that. The inauguration is the day after, but that’s it.” He glanced out the window. “Let’s start with a walking tour of Ever Grande, shall we?”

A few moments later, they were out on the street in front of the Hall of Fame, Patrick rushing to keep up with Colin as the young legendary strode down the street at a fast pace. “This is the new stadium,” he said, motioning to a large arena down the street from the Hall of Fame. “They’ll be holding tournaments in there for trainers who have competed in and placed in regional tournaments. The Ever Grande Stadium is this way.” He took a sharp turn to the left, leading them down a side alley. “Mostly everything in this section of the city are government buildings and stadiums. I’ll show you the financial sector after we see the stadium.”

Ever Grande Stadium was big enough to fit the Coliseum in it several times. A large crowd was already gathered there, trainers milling about in front of a small sign-up table attended by a worried-looking government employee. “All tournaments in the stadium are run by the federal government. The entry fees from the trainers and ticket sales help raise money for various projects here in Ever Grande,” Colin explained as they dodged around several running Aquapolians and their Pokemon, clambering to sign in for the battles that were to take place that day. Some of the trainers looked to be no older than middle-school age. Most of their Pokemon were taller than they were.

During their short walk through the government sector, Patrick couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being followed by someone. He was completely assured of this fact when one of the trainers happened to catch whoever it was and shouted, “Isn’t that Katharine McKenna?!” Sure enough, Patrick spied his daughter at the edge of the crowd, completely caught off guard by the trainer’s announcement. Colin laughed as trainer after trainer realized who was there and crowded around her, wanting autographs, pictures, and battle advice.
“That’s what she gets for not trusting that I wouldn’t get us lost,” Colin said, shaking his head as Katharine tried to answer questions while she signed autographs at the same time, a panicked expression starting to creep across her face. She was entirely uncomfortable in the spotlight, as she had been her entire life, Patrick noticed. Even when speaking to the Legendary Team in their makeshift base within the Vatican archives, Katharine had always held a slight air of nervousness, as if she thought that the rest of the team believed her to be a child trying to lead a group of adults in to battle (which she was).

Colin refrained from doing anything, but Aquapolians were forming such a tight group around Katharine that she seemed to start lose her wits. She was slightly claustrophobic. Any moment, her calm complexion would break. Patrick glanced over at Colin pointedly. The young advisor frowned. “What? Is she still a bit claustrophobic?” Patrick was taken aback by the legendary’s lack of concern and by the fact that Katharine had even been claustrophobic in her legendary life, when she was supposedly the most powerful being on the planet. Colin sighed and motioned for him to go ahead with whatever he wanted to do.

Patrick didn’t hesitate, immediately pushing his way past a few of the outliers in the crowd. Several turned to give him a dirty look, then instantly decided against that when they saw his priest’s collar. Their looks turned to one of interest. According to Katharine, most of the Catholic priests in Ever Grande didn’t venture from the area around the Cave of Origin and most were no younger than sixty. Patrick, who was in his early forties, was not only out of place in this crowd, but would also be out of place if the crowd was populated by Aquapolian priests.

It took him several moments to push his way through to the center of the crowd, catching whispers of trainers who stared at him, mutterings of astonishment. “Is that the new Aquapolian Cardinal?” “Why would you think that?” “They say he’s the youngest ever…” “He’s like half the age of Cardinal Reed!” “I heard a rumor that he adopted Katharine McKenna when she was a kid…” “That explains why he’s here…” He breathed a sigh of relief. Whatever connection the public had made between him and Katharine, they automatically assumed that she was adopted. That made things a lot simpler instead of having to explain that they were actually father and daughter.

Finally, he made it to where Katharine was trying desperately to both answer a question and extract herself from the crowd. “Well, Umbreon was my choice when I evolved my Eevee because of its…strong defenses combined with…speed.” She was stumbling over her words, breathing a bit heavy as her Aquapolian crystal blue eyes darted left and right, trying to find an exit. When she spotted Patrick, a huge wave of relief seemed to crash upon her face. He even thought that he saw the formation of tears in her eyes when he came into view. Several trainers gave him room to step forward and grab her arm gently. The crowd immediately grew silent, waiting for either Katharine or him to speak.

Katharine was at her wits’ end, forcing Patrick to address the crowd. “I’m sorry, but Katharine has something she must attend to at the Hall of Fame.” Several cries of disappointment rose from the crowd, but most of them just called out “Good luck in your next tournament!” or “We’ll be watching you in your next conference!” Trainers started to disperse enough to where Colin could approach them, a mischievous smile on his face. Katharine waited until the crowd was gone before she wrested her arm out of her father’s grip, stepped up to Colin, and punched him hard in the shoulder, seething with anger.

“You did that on purpose!” She snapped, ignoring his cries of pain as he clutched his shoulder. “I could have suffocated with all of the trainers in that crowd!” She gestured toward the stadium wildly, her face finally regaining color from the pale complexion it had taken on while she was still in the midst of the mob. Patrick kept his distance. When Katharine was angry, he preferred to let her continue on, stepping in only when it looked like she would seriously injure or kill someone.

“I think you just broke my shoulder!” Colin cried out dramatically, looking pointedly over at Patrick. “A little help over here?” He gripped his shoulder as if it were falling off. Patrick shook his head and laughed as Colin continued to act as if he were fatally hurt. In the back of his mind, however, he wondered how the young legendary knew that he was a healer. He must have been one in his immortal life as well.

After a few moments of realizing that Patrick was not going to rush to aid him in his imaginary pain, Colin straightened up and scowled mockingly at Katharine. “So, why were you following us? You didn’t believe me when I said I wouldn’t get us in trouble, did you?” He raised one eyebrow skeptically, his mouth twisted up in an amused smile as if her answer would confirm some suspicion of hers.

This question greatly flustered Katharine, causing the young Vice-Champion to cross her arms and shuffle her feet as she tried to come up with the correct answer. “I don’t know…I just know…you’re trouble.” She blurted out, causing Colin’s smile to grow larger, which then caused her to grow even angrier in the space of only a few moments.

Apparently, this exchange was very entertaining to Colin. “How do you know that? Do you remember all of the times I supposedly got us in trouble back during our immortal lives?” He pressed, a serious look pulsing in his eyes for only a few seconds, as if the past were a bit too painful for him to bring up.

Now, Colin was finally angry. His stormy grey eyes lit up, and Katharine could see a pulse of the legendary warrior in front of her. “So, you don’t trust me to look after your father and make sure he doesn’t get lost, is that it?”

Suddenly, Katharine’s face fell, as if a weight of sadness had descended on her. She shook her head, backing up and casting an apologetic glance at Patrick. “No…Something tells me that you’re trouble but…” She ducked her head as she backed up even more. Colin could see tears forming in her eyes, and he suddenly felt horrible for pushing her to the edge. He wanted desperately to reach out and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, but they weren’t close enough in this life for him to do so.

Finally, she lifted her head, a defiant look in her eye. “Something also tells me that I should trust you with my life.” Before Colin could say another word, she turned on her heel and quickly walked back down the street to the Hall of Fame, not even saying good-bye to her father as she returned to work. Colin gazed after her, feeling terrible about what he had done.

Patrick could sense the young legendary’s mood, and, making a mental note to speak to Katharine that night, asked, “Why don’t we visit the business sector?”

Fact of the chapter: The Elite Elder is the head of the Elder Council, a group of region Champions, Elite Four, Gym Leaders, and village elders who act as a sort of legislative body for the Aquapolian government. To be placed on the Elder Council, one must have served in one of these positions at least once during his or her lifetime and must be currently above the age of fifty. The Elite Elder is voted into office by the council and is a lifetime appointment, much like the Aquapolian Cardinal. Former Champions and Vice-Champions are also eligible for this role. The Elite Elder runs the legislative body as well as controls the secret service organization of Aquapolis, which is similar to a combination of the FBI, CIA, and Special Forces. Finally, and most importantly, the Elite Elder serves as advisor and counsel to the Champion, passing on words of wisdom from his or her life on to the next generation of rulers.

Walker was waiting for her when Katharine returned to her office, still a bit frazzled by her encounter with the mob of trainers back at the Ever Grande Stadium. “Is everything okay?” He asked as she took a seat behind her desk. Katharine was relieved to see that no paperwork was stacked up around her. She guessed that it was too early in her appointment for her to be accosted by bills and measures. She ran a hand over her head to try and tame down her frazzled blonde hair, which was trying to curl itself into a position that would make her seem as if she were electrocuted.

She groaned as another thought struck her. She had failed to come up with a solution to her father’s complete and utter lack of a Pokemon. Surely, she could arrange to have one of the regional professor’s send over one of their extra starters, but he hadn’t seemed interested in any of them when she brought it up. In fact, he had asked her to pick his Pokemon for him, confident that she would make the best decision based on her years of experience.

She realized she had also yet to answer Walker’s question. “Yes, I’m fine. Just had a run in with a mob of trainers down by the new stadium…” She fiddled with her pendent as she crashed through the database of Pokemon she had stored in her mind, rejecting each one. That one was too powerful. That one was too unruly. That one wasn’t powerful enough. There was no way she was giving her father a dragon-type, no matter how young it was…

“I believe you and Wallace are doing an exhibition match down there next week before it opens up completely to the public, aren’t you?” Walker asked, interrupting her train of thought. Her eyes flew open, the database instantly disappearing as she glared at him. NOW he told her about a match that had obviously been scheduled weeks ago?

“I guess so,” she muttered, shaking her head. “But, before we get started on anything, there’s something I need to get done…” She gazed out the window. “I need to make a quick trip to Sinnoh today.”

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The financial district was packed. Colin and Patrick found it hard to walk together down the street, Colin yelling and pointing to buildings to explain what companies were house there. He swung an arm over to one of the tallest skyscrapers, shouting, “That’s Kodai Enterprises! The second biggest international company in Aquapolis! They say its CEO can see the future or something! The rumors…” He shut up, a look spreading across his face told Patrick that he had almost yelled something that he didn’t want anyone around them to hear. Colin shook his head and continued down the street. Another imposing glass skyscraper stood a block from Kodai Enterprises.

“What company is this?” Patrick asked. The crowd had thinned out by now so that they didn’t have to yell.

“Akagi International. The biggest international company in Aquapolis,” Colin said simply, stopping to spread his arms out to display the building. “Their CEO recently passed away, and no one really knows who the new CEO is.”

Patrick glanced across the plaza in front of the building. His eyes widened when he spotted someone familiar walking quickly down the steps. The Aquapolian man was easily in his late thirties, with dark brown hair. He was dressed in a three-piece suit which looked strange on him. He glanced over, freezing when he spotted Patrick, who stepped over to speak to him. “Cyrus? It’s been a while…I didn’t know you were in Aquapolis.”

Dr. Cyrus Jones gave him a hesitant smile. “Yeah...” He took a deep breath. “I quit my job at Yale and CERN…”

Patrick stared at him. “What about your…your project for the Aquapolian equation?”

He shook his head. “I…I’m working on it in my spare time right now…” He glanced up at the building. “I’ve got a new job now.”

“At a company?”

“Yeah…I…”

“Mr. Jones!” Both men turned to see a younger man hurrying down the steps toward Cyrus. When he finally reached them, he said worriedly. “You have a meeting in five minutes across town, sir. If we don’t leave now, we’re not going to make it.”

Cyrus frowned. “I thought I canceled that meeting.”

“Sir, it’s an investment meeting. It’s too important to cancel,” the man shook his head.

“Then send someone else who’s more competent to handle the meeting,” he responded, turning to leave.

“Sir…” The man stuttered. “This meeting is extremely important. You have to be there.”

Cyrus laughed. “Believe me, I’m sure you’ll be much more comfortable with yours…” With that, he spun around, teleporting into thin air.
“It almost sounds as if he was forced into the job,” Colin muttered.

“Knowing him…he probably was,” Patrick replied.

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“I thought you and Cynthia weren’t on speaking terms,” Walker said, leaning over the rail of the ferry.

Katharine rolled her eyes. “Even if we were, I wouldn’t come to Sinnoh exclusively to talk to her. I have a friend here who agreed to loan me a special Pokemon.”

“We must be heading for Sunyshore instead of Pearl City…”

She nodded, staring out to sea. She bit her lip, agonizing over the question that kept floating around her head. Then, she said, “Why did you go to such lengths to make my life a living hell?”

His eyebrows rose and he shot her a skeptical look. “Really? Did I make your life that bad?”

She glared at him. “Father thought something was wrong with me the entirety of junior year. Every time he called, I was working on something for your class and was in the depths of despair.”

“That’s a bit dramatic, don’t you think?”

“Just answer my question.”

He sighed, taking a few moments to form his answer before saying, “It would have been dangerous for you otherwise.”

“What?”

“Other than my class, was there really another class in high school that challenged you at all?”

She thought about it. “Not really…”

“You sailed through high school…which wasn’t an easy feat for the average student, but for you…you weren’t an average student. The first ever obstacle for you was my class.”

Katharine opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off. “And none of your battles at the beginning of your training career count. You were a prodigy in the arena. My class made you overcome something completely difficult.”
She clamped her mouth shut, agitation and thoughtfulness running through her at the same time. Walker was completely and utterly right. Everything had come easily to Katharine, from school to her training career. Before the day the six perferiti went missing and Robert Langdon showed up at the Vatican, her life was extremely smooth sailing. In a short couple of days, however, her world had turned upside down, and she was struggling to stay afloat. Five of the perferiti had died. The camerlengo had almost blown himself up with the antimatter bomb, then had confessed to her that he was her biological father, not her adopted one. The biggest obstacle she had faced was fighting Ojinan, the first demon Hastings had brought into the Vatican.

Walker’s class had stayed in the back of her mind the entire time, pushing her forward when she thought she couldn’t go any further. She scowled. She didn’t want to admit Walker was right…but he was. Luckily, he left her to her thoughts, not pressing any further. She felt kind of guilty for pitching a fit about his appointment by Wallace. Perhaps he had been her best mentor ever…perhaps this was the best appointment Wallace could make.

They didn’t speak again until Sunyshore came in to view, the lighthouse glittering in the bright noonday sun, its light not very visible in the harsh glare. Katharine readjusted the bag on her shoulder, turning to Walker to speak. “We’re heading for the gym on the other side of the city.”

“For that special Pokemon?” He asked skeptically. She scowled at him. “May I ask why in the world you would choose a work day to pick up a Pokemon from Volkner Sunyshore?”

“Okay, but it’s a secret, so you can’t tell anyone…” She said reluctantly.

------------

As the elevator ascended to the twenty-first floor of the Aquapolian Trade Center, Cyrus cursed himself over and over again for letting himself get put into this situation. His dreams and goals were now so far out of reach, he doubted that he could ever finish them in his lifetime. He preferred to spend his days in a library or a laboratory, not behind a desk…never behind a desk, which was why he took only the bare minimum of required classes to teach during his stint at Yale.

The past six months since he had left the Vatican had been a whirlwind of life changes. He had received the call three months after his return to Yale, where he was working on perfecting the seventh variable in his Aquapolian equation, a formula that put the existence of the Aquapolian race in mathematical form. While many would scoff at his attempting to explain Aquapolian existence in this way, Cyrus didn’t think it took anything away from the legends and religious beliefs of the Aquapolians. In fact, he had insisted on starting the equation with intelligent design instead of evolution, making an enemy out of most of the humans on his project team.

The doors opened up onto a plain hallway. Cyrus and his assistant stepped down the passageway until they reached the meeting room. A group of businessmen sat around the long table, the one at the head staring down at a folder laid out on the table. He had dark brown hair and grey eyes and was dressed the best out of the entire group. When Cyrus entered the room, he looked up, smiling as he jumped from his seat. “Cyrus Jones! A pleasure to meet you! I’ve heard so much about your scientific endeavors!” He extended a hand for Cyrus to shake. The former scientist shook it reluctantly, plastering a fake smile on his face.

“Grings Kodai! I’ve heard so much about your…” He paused. “Legendary endeavors.”

Kodai laughed. “Man, I wish all of the rumors were true! Imagine how much bigger my company could grow if I could see into the future!”

Cyrus laughed nervously. “Yeah, imagine what you could do…”

“Anyway!” Kodai motioned to the seat across from his. “This meeting today is to help us improve our international endeavors after the…unsettling events of last summer.”

Kodai nodded sadly. “I’m afraid investors in the human states are no longer keen on the idea of sending money to Aquapolian companies.”

Cyrus paused. “Do they not trust us…?”

“Frankly, I’m surprised most of our human investors stayed on. There are rumors spreading like wild fire across the world that the human states are pulling back a bit in all ways of interaction with Aquapolis and Japan.”

“Just because one Aquapolian went on a tirade…?”

“ESPECIALLY because one Aquapolian went on a tirade. They all think we’re Shadow Followers here.” Kodai spread his arms out and laughed as if this were funny. Everyone else in the room except for Cyrus joined him. Cyrus leaned back in his seat, not believing his ears. “Anyway,” Kodai leaned forward. “I wanted to approach you to see if we could combine out forces and come out more powerful than ever.”

“You want to merge our companies?” Cyrus’ eyes widened.

“Yes…I’m sure it will work to both of our advantages. Frankly, since up until a few months ago you were stuck in a lab at Yale doing math equations all day, you don’t have as much…business sense as a CEO should have.”

I loved it! I was able to get a clearer picture of what Ever Grande looked like and the politics of Aquapolis as well! Quite a nice light relief chapter after everything that happened and A&D. Enjoyed all the character developments there too, especially everything to do with Wallace and Patrik and their interactions.

Drake is an interesting character too, by the way you presented him. I'm intrigued to see where he heads, and also intrigued to see his role. I have a slight bad feeling about him so we'll have to wait and see what that creates. I wonder what his role may have been with Lance and Clair? And (although from chapter 4) why he now seems very pleased another Blackthorn has arrived? Is he planning anything?

Even if you didn't intend to create that atmosphere I think it's very good and really shows your characterisation there. I look forward to seeing where else you take verything.

Chapter 4

Again, great development of characters here. Your great at keeping the pace moving and constantly growing and the same goes with your characters! YOu keep them growing constantly, with every sentence, so much can happen in a chapter. Your description has also fleshed out which I like! I think you've got a really great balance here and it helps add to your plotline and pace I feel *but that could just be my fetish for description :P* all in all another good chapter and I again have plenty more questions. Mew? What's going on with it? Bad omens? Drake? So much left open so it'll be interesting to see where this goes! A great first few chapters setting up everything!

You see, my favorite part of writing this fic is that I get to translate all of the places in the Pokemon universe into live-action format. Figuring out how these places would look if they were real was really challenging, but really fun.

I also thought that the Facts of the Chapter would help everyone grasp more about Aquapolis. Most science fiction writers who have created a new civilization have books and volumes to spread out the culture and customs in...but I don't! That's why I give y'all behind-the-scenes looks that are careful not to reveal too much of the plot.

Drake...is an interesting character, and I didn't even think I insinuated anything about him planning something, but you're totally right! He is...a very sneaky dragon master. Stay tuned for his plan in a couple of chapters.

Ah, Mew. This is the second time I've used her in one of my plotlines (third time she's been in any of my fics and first time in a live-action one). She's very important, so keep track of her!

Thank you for reviewing! I'm about halfway through the next chapter, but it will probably not be finished until this weekend.

Fact of the Chapter: Each legendary goes through a reincarnation cycle at least once in their immortal lives, during which their memories of the past are wiped away and they are born as an Aquapolian mortal.

No new characters in this chapter.

8: Preparing for the Ball

By the time Katharine returned home, she was completely wiped out. After her first full day of dealing with (and subsequently realized she didn’t hate) Walker and making an impromptu trip to Sinnoh, she was fully ready to go to sleep and forget about her troubles for a few hours. She didn’t even make it to her bed, passing out face-first on the couch, her boots still strapped to her feet. Umbreon curled on her back, and Pika slept on the back of the couch. The next thing she knew, several hours had past, and her father was finally home from the Hall of Fame. She glanced groggily at her watch. It was nearly nine o’clock. Where had he been for the past four hours?!

“Well, at least Colin didn’t get you lost…” She muttered, letting her arm drop back down to the side of the couch. Patrick sat in one of the chairs across the room from her. He had the same spark in his eyes as he usually did after being in the Vatican archives for hours on end. Obviously, Colin had done a good job on taking him on an adventure that day.

“Did you know that Cyrus is the new CEO of Akagi International?” He said quickly, his eyes widening in disbelief. Katharine didn’t believe her ears. There was no way their Aquapolian physicist friend had joined the world of business and risen to such great heights in a matter of a few months. She bolted up into a sitting position, shaking her head as if she didn’t believe a word he was saying. As if he of all people would lie, of course.

“Colin and I saw him today in the financial district…He didn’t seem too happy about his situation,” Patrick continued, frowning. “I don’t understand why he would leave his equation to do something he completely despised…Unless he was forced into that position.”

“Did he say anything about getting fired from his lab at Yale?” It was well known that most of the human professors there had hated Cyrus. The only researcher there who had had his back had been her old high school professor, David Rowan. They had been friends for years, and Rowan was the only one he had trusted on his research team.

“No. It sounded like he had to quit for some reason. Maybe the college was forcing him to add additions to his team or equation that he refused to do? But still…”

Katharine frowned. “If he left Yale, he would have just gone straight to CERN and find what sparse funding he could find there…” She shook her head. “Anyway, when do you want to go down to the Cave of Origin?”

“After the inauguration ceremony on Sunday…maybe Monday.”

“I guess we’ll have to go with Colin.” She rolled her eyes. “Otherwise, we’ll get lost in there.”

“Do you really remember him?”

She paused, a serious look on her face as she thought. “I…I vaguely do…” She shook her head. “I’m going to bed,” she said, standing up and walking to her room, Pika and Umbreon at her heels.

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Over the next few days, Katharine made a list of all of the duties she had to perform starting that weekend and continuing on for the next month or so. The first thing on the list was all that the inauguration ball contained. The most important thing was to look nice…and powerful in front of both Aquapolis’ closest allies and those who were a little bit more distant. The ball would be her debut, since her name had not been officially announced as the face behind the new mysterious Vice-Champion. All eyes would be on her first, then on the new, young Champion, the youngest Aquapolian Cardinal ever to serve (the camerlengo who had saved the Vatican from the antimatter bomb, no less), and the Elite Elder who had made a name for himself as one of the strongest Champions in modern Aquapolian history.

Of course, there would be questions about her and the Aquapolian Cardinal. She refused to take up a fake last name, even declining Drake’s invitation to take on the Blackthorn clan name, even though she was technically a member because of her mother. Her official name would be Vice-Champion McKenna. Wallace was uneasy about this until she conceded that, not for safety’s sake, but for convenience’s sake (it was such a long explanation, anyway), she would simply say that she was Patrick’s adopted daughter and leave it at that. It was the truth, after all. He HAD adopted her.

Then, there would be her introduction to the heads of state. Japan was their closest ally, being the only other Aquapolian state in the world besides Aquapolis itself. Their closest human ally was America, with England coming in second. Two much smaller countries followed those two superpowers: Greece and Ireland. Italy was fifth of the human states, though its position was quickly rising due to the election of the first outright Aquapolian pope. She would have to make a good impression on the Emperor of Japan, the President of the United States, and the Queen of England. It made her totally flustered to think about it, though, technically, she was speaking to probably the most powerful man in the world every day when she left her apartment and chatted with Wallace.

Lastly, there was her date. The male members of the Elite Four were not required to bring dates to the inauguration ball, but usually did if they were engaged or married. Wallace wasn’t even dating at the moment and both her father and grandfather had lost their wives years ago. The female members of the Elite Four, however, traditionally brought dates, whether they were friends, lovers, boyfriends, fiancés, family members, or husbands. She tried to think of who to ask. For a friend…Eric was going to be out of town, and she hadn’t spoken to many of her other boy friends in years. Colin was out because he was an advisor, therefore making him ineligible to bring as a date. She had no other family members besides her father and grandfather and knew nothing about any of her male cousins on her mother’s side. As if she would ever ask Lance Blackthorn to be her date…at least in this millennium.

Then there was the thought of a boyfriend. She bit her lip every time she thought of him, forcing the bittersweet memories out of her mind. She had loved and lost before, though she wasn’t entirely sure that he was dead. He had disappeared several years beforehand. There was no way for her to get in contact with him. She pushed the image of his face out of her mind. No. She would go without a date. The new, young Vice-Champion would already make quite an appearance at the ball. Might as well make people talk even more by not bringing a date.

Of course, she didn’t announce her decision to anyone (her father was completely ignorant of the situation anyway) until Wallace brought it up. The four of them were sitting in his office, laying out their plans of action after the ball as well as deciding on when and where their training sessions would be. Patrick was surprised by the news that even the Aquapolian Cardinal was required to attend the sessions. Priests were supposed to be the opposite of warriors…but, of course, Patrick had always been an exception to that rule. His legendary spirit made sure of that.

“Do you have a dress for the ball yet?” Wallace asked her. She was caught off guard by his question, her mind completely engrossed in how many regional champions and Elite Four she was supposed to call.

After a few moments of processing his words, she nodded. “Yeah, I picked one up a few weeks ago.” She smiled mischievously at him. “Are you going to wait until the last second to pick up your tux?”

A mock look of hurt feelings crossed his face. “Now why would you think that I would wait so long for something so important? I picked mine up several weeks ago, I’ll have you know.”

She rolled her eyes. “Well, that’s a first. I think I remember Adrienne Paul complaining when you rented your tux at the last minute for prom your senior year and forgot to consult her on what color dress she was wearing.”
“Speaking of dates, who are you taking to the ball?”

Katharine shot him an icy glare. “No one,” she muttered, pretending to pay extra attention to the papers in front of her and ignoring the interested looks her father and grandfather were giving her.

Wallace laughed. “Come on, now! I bet all of the gossip magazines are eager to hear who is dating the new Vice-Champion.”

She shot him a glare again, this time kicking him in the leg as hard as she could underneath the table.

“Ow!” He cried out, feigning grave injury. “What was that for?”

“There’s no rule that says I have to bring a date to the ball…”

“But it IS a tradition,” Wallace pointed out. “And, here in Aquapolis, tradition is almost a synonym of law.”

She scowled at him. “I’m not bringing anyone, and that’s final.” She lowered her head to read the papers once more, making sure her hair fell so that Wallace couldn’t see the range of emotions on her face. She fought back tears as she tried to read about Champion Stone’s new Hoenn policies. Patrick, of course, caught the look on her face, a worried expression spreading across his own, but he refused to speak.

------------

“This should be fun,” Colin said, rubbing his hands together as he and Patrick sat down to discuss the inauguration. “I mean, the ball’s the fun part. The inauguration is boring…well, the public one, of course. The official one is much more interesting.”

“What do you mean by public and official?” Patrick asked, a confused look on his face.

“Well, there’s the public one that is held in front of the Hall of Fame for the public, nation, and world to see. Then, the official one is held in the temple right outside of the Cave of Origin where the four of you are recognized as the Elite Four by the entire body of legendaries. Mainly, the leader of the legendaries will preside over this meeting…”

“Quamachi? I thought…”

“No, the current leader is Giratina. Quamachi can’t be leader right now for obvious reasons.”

“I understand…”
“He’s been looking forward to meeting you,” Colin added. “Ever since you borrowed his power last summer to do battle with the Shadow Commander…and since he was called in to help Qua…Katharine defeat Nyx. You won’t remember this, but the two of you used to be good friends back during your immortal lives.”

During the past few days since Colin was assigned as his advisor, Patrick had listened to short snippets of his immortal life as seen through Colin’s eyes. Short stories here and there were filling in his completely wiped out memory of his past life, though he would never truly remember anything until he died. Colin would also speak of some of the insane adventures he and Katharine used to get involved in with Mew (whose mortal name had been Marina). It was comforting to know that Katharine hadn’t changed during her shift from immortal to mortal life. He had grown extremely worried that, when she died and resumed her role as Quamachi, she would be a complete stranger to him.

A loud knock at the door caught their attention as Katharine stepped in, her crystal blue eyes shooting Colin a look that said that she hadn’t forgiven him of the incident at the stadium. Katharine didn’t usually carry grudges, but Patrick had noticed that she was extremely wary of Colin. Maybe she hadn’t come to terms yet with the idea that she had once been close to the young legendary and currently had no memory of him.

“Wallace wants to see all of us in his office so that we can go over the plan for tomorrow and Sunday,” she said. She glanced at Colin. “He wants to see the advisors as well. I don’t believe you’ve met Walker…”

“No, I haven’t. I’ve seen him a couple of times in the library, but he’s always so busy…” Colin frowned. “Is he, like, completely retired from teaching or is he doing other stuff, too?”

“I think he’s still doing research at Aquapolis Tech during his free time… Walker would never truly separate himself from the world of science so completely,” Katharine said, a small smile crossing her face. It seemed as if she were getting more comfortable around Colin. From the look on the young legendary’s face, he was relieved by how smoothly this conversation was going. Patrick hadn’t thought of the fact that Colin had missed his friend for the past twenty or so years that they had been apart.

Colin and Patrick stood up. “Well, I guess we better go. The Champion has summoned us,” Colin said as they followed Katharine out of the room.

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Drake and Walker were already in Wallace’s office when they arrived. Colin walked straight up to Walker and held out his hand for the former professor to shake. “Hi, I’m Colin Brown, the Aquapolian Cardinal’s advisor.”

“Aren’t you a little young to be an advisor, Mr. Brown?” Katharine smirked at Walker’s condescending tone, the one he had directed at many a sleeper or slacker in his classroom. The look that Colin shot back at him was one of a challenge. He wasn’t about to let that comment go without a comeback.

“I’m actually older than you are by a couple of thousand years, so…”

Katharine rolled her eyes. “Nice comeback…” She muttered, shaking her head and trying not to laugh directly in Colin’s face. The legendary shot her a mock angry look followed by a look of nostalgia. She felt something warm in her heart, something from days long ago. As they sat down to their first full meeting as the Elite Four and advisors, small flashes of images cross her mind, from running through the forest outside of the Cave of Origin to diving into the sapphire blue Hoenn Sea.

He had been her best friend…in fact…

He had always been her best friend…

That was when Katharine realized that she had missed him…at least subconsciously…for years.

Yes I've delivered a chapter review! I'll see if I have time to review another tonight, but I'm going to look at Shadow Games now! Onto the actual review:

Chapter 5

Absoloutely loved the continual character development here! There's always elements of it through every bit of your writing, we always get graced with it and its such an integral part of what you do! I love how its woven in and is very subtle, and you can see how one character grows from the beginning of the chapter to the end!!

The storyline in this chapter was brilliant! Loved all your ideas there, and how you brought it all together as well! The concept of all the plot points were intriguing, the advisor, the history/past, relationships with Dawn and Eric. Was a perfect balance here!

Keep it up! Everything seems to be imrpoving cosntantly and the reading and flow is much much better! Brilliant!

Why, thank you. Colin is definitely going to play an important part in this story, especially his history/past with Katharine. Dawn and Eric also play an integral part as Katharine's friends, though I admit we'll be seeing much more of Eric than of Dawn in the future.

Thank you so much for reading!

I'm halfway through the next chapter, so it may be posted this weekend.

Fact of the Chapter: Each legendary has an Aquapolian form and a Pokemon form. Most legendaries prefer to walk around in their Aquapolian form, but some remain in their Pokemon form most of the time. Their powers are at the same level no matter what form they are in, but most find it easier to fight when in their Aquapolian form. Choice weapons besides their own powers are swords and bow and arrows.

No New Characters this chapter

9. The Morning of the Ball

The Saturday of the Inauguration Ball started quietly. Katharine woke up around eight in the morning, feeling extremely nervous and excited at the same time. Their collective Elite Four meeting the day before had prepared her for what she had to do…and also prepared her to expect that nothing would be entirely easy about that night. She had to impress diplomats and foreign leaders alike, and make sure that none of them thought twice about her age. At twenty, she was the youngest Vice-Champion to serve during modern times, and, when most countries had leaders whose lowest ages were in their early forties, she ran the risk of being looked down upon as simply a teenager who was playing at leading a country.

Both Pika and Umbreon were curled around her feet, the cat waving all four paws in the air as he slept, obviously having that dream again that he was a lion prowling the savannahs of Hoenn. Katharine tried her best not to wake the great beast up, but as she swung her legs out of bed, the Aquapolian tabby jolted from his seat, his yellow-green eyes glaring at her in annoyance as Umbreon yawned loudly, protesting at being awake so early in the morning.

After getting dressed, she silently made her way into the living room, glancing out of the floor-to-ceiling windows to see how the weather was. Perfect. It was a bright and sunny day, warm even in January. The Earth’s equator slashed right through Ever Grande, the city and region protected from the sweltering heat that lashed against the deserts of Africa and North America and the rain forests of South America by continuous ocean breezes and the climate-control barrier the legendaries had set up in order to keep their home island comfortable.

Patrick was sitting on the balcony, his back turned toward her. She wondered how long he had been up. Her father had a tendency sometimes to not sleep before big events. She didn’t remember him sleeping before either of the two conclaves that had taken place the previous summer. In fact, he had almost collapsed before the second one after acquiring some of the power of dimension, which had taken so much energy from him, even his own healing powers were unable to replace it easily.

Katharine stepped forward, about to address her father and ask if he had gotten any sleep the night before when her phone rang loudly from her room. Umbreon’s ears flew back as Patrick turned to see where the noise was coming from. She bolted back into her room, scooping up her phone and pressing the call button. “Hello?”

“Hey, Vice-Champion. You’re up early!” It was Eric, his usually cheerful voice lifting her spirits a little bit, distracting her from her worries about Patrick for a few moments. “Are you free this morning?”

She thought about her schedule for the day. She and Patrick weren’t due at the Hall of Fame until five, since the ball was at eight. Until then, she was completely free. “Yeah, do you want to meet up?”

“How about the Starbucks around the corner? We could go there and then hit up the mall one last time before you have to get around to running a country.” He laughed and she made a face, wishing he could see her mock glare over the phone.

“Where’s Dawn?” She asked, curious that her friend and his girlfriend wasn’t in town. Usually it was she who called to meet up. Eric’s calling meant that she must either be busy or in another region, most likely the latter.

“She’s in Sinnoh visiting her parents today. They wanted her home for Inauguration Weekend.” The weekend of the inauguration was a countrywide holiday, as well as an unofficial holiday for Aquapolians worldwide. Businesses shut down and schools were out on both Friday and Monday. Families gathered together at numbers only rivaled by Christmas gatherings.

“Okay, I’ll be right down,” she said, hanging up and rushing back out of the room. Her father was still sitting on the balcony, his face turned back to the view of the city. She could clearly see the Cave of Origin in the distance and wondered if his thoughts were at the temple and their visit on Monday. She herself was anxious. The Cave of Origin was the most sacred place on Earth…what would it be like on the inside?

She stepped onto the balcony, clearing her throat. “I’m going to meet up with Eric for a few hours. I should be back in time for us to go to the Hall of Fame together.”

He tilted his head toward her. “Be safe.”

Those words filled her completely with foreboding. He had uttered those two simple words multiple times during the events of the previous summer. Did he know something she didn’t? Something that could harm her even here in peaceful Ever Grande?

She answered with her usual response. “I will.” With a worried glance at her father, wondering if she should decline Eric’s invitation and stay home with him, she made her way out the door, Umbreon at her heels.

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Eric opened the door of the Starbucks for her, greeting her with his usual warm grin. “How are you this morning, Miss Vice-Champion?”

“Wondering how in the world I’m going to survive the next few days.”

“Well, some caffeine should fix that.” They stepped into line. “How’s Patrick?”

“He’s…” she crossed her arms. “Nervous. Anxious. I think he’s most worried about the inauguration at the Cave of Origin tomorrow night.”

“Yeah, he always struck me as someone who doesn’t like to be the center of attention. Even when we elected him leader, he would rather you or Rowan make all of the decisions.” He paused to let them order, then continued as they waited for their drinks. “The entire Legendary Team is going to be there tomorrow, cheering you on.”

“This isn’t a tournament match, Eric.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not every day that two of our own become leaders of a country.”

“Seeing as how we’ve only been a team for the past six months, there hasn’t really been a lot of chances for us to take over a country.” They grabbed their drinks and made their way out the door.

“How about we hit up the mall another time?” Eric asked suddenly as soon as they had stepped a block away from the Starbucks.

She frowned, confused. “Where do you want to go?”

“To visit an old friend.”

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Patrick closed the apartment door behind him, almost running face-to-face with Wallace as he made his way to the elevator. “Ready for tonight?” The young Champion asked as they stepped into the elevator.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” he replied with a sigh.

“Don’t worry, you’ll do fine. We’ve never had an Aquapolian Cardinal embarrass us in front of our allies yet. A Champion, yes, but never an Aquapolian Cardinal.”

“Well, that’s comforting.”

“So, are you heading down to the Hall of Fame today?”

“I have some more studying to do.”

“On what amounts to an international holiday?” Wallace asked skeptically.

“Until I’m able to enter the Cave of Origin, that’s all I really can do.”

“How about going to visit a friend?”

“What?”

“Well, I have a friend in the financial district I need to talk to. Why don’t you come along? I think you know him. He’s the new CEO of Akagi International, Cyrus Jones.”

“Yes, Colin and I ran into him a few days ago outside of their headquarters.”

“Yeah…when he retires, he’s going to have all the money he could want to fund his research.”

“I think he would rather be doing the research now instead of earning all of that money.”

Wallace laughed as they walked down the street toward the financial district. “From what I hear about him, I don’t doubt you.”

------------

“What are we doing here?” Katharine asked as she and Eric entered the office building of Akagi International. The lobby was sparsely populated due to so many employees getting the day off.

“Cyrus is working today, but he said we could drop by. Come on, let’s hang out for old times sake.”

She shot him a worried look. “Are you sure he said that it was okay for us to bother him while he’s working?” She asked as they stepped into the elevator and Eric punched the button for the top floor.

“Yeah, besides, it’s not like he cares about this work anyway,” Eric muttered as the doors swung closed.
Katharine nodded, hating to admit that her friend had been stuck in a position that would ultimately sacrifice his life goal forever. She felt a pang of sadness for the reserved, quiet scientist who had so willingly taken on the power of time, even though he knew that he could have easily died. She made a mental note to speak with him in private as soon as possible and find out exactly under what circumstances he had been forced into this position. If it was a personal matter that Cyrus wished not to speak of, she would back off. Otherwise, she wanted to do anything to help her friend and utilize her new position.

They finally reached the floor where Cyrus’ offices were held. As soon as they stepped off of the elevator, Katharine immediately became suspicious. She followed Eric through the twists and turns of office cubicles and glass offices, each and every one completely empty. “Where is everyone?” She muttered, failing to detect even one speck of life besides her and Eric.

“Everyone has the weekend off for the inauguration, remember?” Eric pointed out, easily making his way through the maze as if he had been there many times before. Katharine wondered why Cyrus was working so hard on a day that he should have spent at home, possibly assessing his choices and dreaming about returning to the lab.

Finally, the most suspicious thing of all happened. As they rounded another corner, near which was a huge conference room with shades drawn across its glass windows on the inside, Eric almost ran smack into Wallace. Both young men shot each other a conspiratorial grin as Patrick glanced at Katharine with a confused look. She wondered how Wallace had convinced him to leave their apartment.

“What’s going on here?” She asked, looking from Eric to Wallace and back again, crossing her arms in front of her.

“I don’t know, Miss Vice-Champion,” Wallace said, shrugging his shoulders in feigned innocence. “Maybe you should open those doors,” he said, motioning to the double doors of the conference room. With one more glance at the two conspirators, Katharine turned and, gripping one door handle in both of her hands, wrenched the doors open wide.

“Surprise!”

Lined up on all sides of the long, rectangular conference table was each and every last member of the Legendary Team.

Absoloutely liked the intorudction of Colin's character here, and how he interacted with Katharine. Was a very interesting little feature of the chapter and I think has also added in quite a lot of back story for the characters and an interesting history. I'm interested to see how the Legendary Aquapolians work, if that makes sense, as in how they operate and how they come to live so long as well. There were a nice few set ups there and as ever I loved the character developments!

Chapter 7

I also really liked this one too, because it was an interesting development as well. Some nice little side plots arising I see, which does add for an interesting combination of plots now! I look forward to seeing how Sunyshore goes down, hoe Cyrus and Kodai interact, and also how Patrik comes to grips with Aquapolis and Colin... and and let's not foget Walace and his little endeavours. You've really managed to use these first lot of chapters for a really good set up! I'm excited!

I'm getting there with my reading and I'm loving every bit of the plot! It's just getting continuously deeper which is most certainly amazing! The plot really seems to have taken shape now and I think you've got into the flow of writing for it. I love what you're doing and I'm excited for more of the unraveling plot to become apparent. It's full of some great ideas, congrats!

The characters are also developing well, I like how you feed us with little bits of information as time goes on so we can piece bits together just like the other characters can. It's quite nice to think of yourself as being in the mix of the story so I'm very intrigued by what we might learn in the few chapters to come! Colin is definitely one to look out for I think! History with Katharine... hmmm I wonder lol!

The writing of it too is getting steadily better. I do like the way you write, having description mixed in with narration and speech etc. It works and blends together nicely and I love the flow it creates. Spelling seems good, don't generally notice mistakes there but I don't think you write many anyway. Grammar wise, there were only one or two things that were an issue but I think it's something we all do:

so in some instances you wrote:

It made her totally flustered to think about it

where the

to think

should really be the present participle, thinking.

There were other instances where 'of' was used where 'for' would've sounded better and vice versa with the occasion of other words fitting in. It can be quite hard to write that, which again is something I think quite a few writers make, I guess continua editing can help but we can't really do that here, but I thought I'd point it out nevertheless.

Since I’m introducing a ton of new characters in this chapter, I’ve decided to, for the next few chapters, have a Character of the Chapter instead of a Fact of the Chapter, just to give y’all some background on the Legendary Team members you may not have if you haven’t read Angels and Demons.

Character of the Chapter: Dr. Robert Langdon
Canon: Angels and Demons
Nationality: American-Aquapolian
Occupation: Professor of Aquapolian and human religious symbology at Harvard
Type: Fire
Harnessed Power at the Final Fight of Angels and Demons: Land
Short Bio: Langdon was called to the Vatican after a strange symbol was branded on the murdered Cardinal Reed’s chest. There, he embarked on a mission to save the six kidnapped cardinals, aided by Katharine and, later, Rowan. Agnostic by faith, Langdon stands out amongst the other Aquapolians in the group, especially when it comes to using his own powers. By the end of Angels and Demons, he makes up his mind to fully convert to Christianity after witnessing the events that take place in the Vatican. After that summer, he returned to Harvard and resumed teaching his classes with a newfound zeal.

10. A Reunion

Katharine and Patrick gaped at the sight before them. All of the Legendary Team members stood in anticipation, waiting for either McKenna to say something. Finally, after at least five minutes of silence, one of the members decided he was too impatient for them to make up their minds about what they would say.

“What? You didn’t think we were going to miss this, were you?” House spoke up, rolling his eyes.

“It’s not every day that two of our own become Elite Four members,” Nichols added.

Riley looked confused. “We’ve only been a team for half a year. We can’t say that already, can we?”

Wallace bowed, excusing himself from the room. “I’ll leave y’all to your reunion. I have a few things I need to address before tonight. Just make sure that you get the two of them to the Hall of Fame in time.” With that, he left the room. Then, a few moments later, he returned as if he had forgotten something. “I almost forgot. All of you got the invitations to the ball tonight, right?” He shot a look at Cyrus, who nodded. “Good. See you later.” That time, he left for good.

It was good to see the Legendary Team again. Everyone was there. The Aquapolian religion professor from Harvard, Robert Langdon. Her old high school professor and current Aquapolian physics professor at Yale, David Rowan. Langdon’s old college roommate from Harvard who had been in the news twice: The first time for stealing the Declaration of Independence and the second time for kidnapping the president, Ben Gates. The cousin of one of Eric and Katharine’s old high school friends, a computer genius, Riley Poole. Two detective partners from New York City Major Case’s Shadow Forces Squad, Zach Nichols and Serena Stevens. An archaeology professor at Harvard, Indy Jones. Finally, there was the diagnostician and resident doctor of the group, Gregory House.

After Katharine, Patrick, and Eric slid into seats around the table, Rowan, who had made the list of Legendary Team members originally and had called them together, spoke up. “Well, it’s obvious that many things have changed for some of us since last summer.” He shot a look at Cyrus before continuing. “So we thought it would be good to sort of all share what we’ve been up to. Langdon, you can go first.”

Langdon was caught off guard for a moment before saying, “Well, I returned to teaching…still teaching Aquapolian religion. Not much has changed since last summer…at least the school and everyone else hasn’t changed. Something has just seemed…” He sighed. “…off.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. “It’s been hard returning to the classroom,” Indy agreed. “Especially since the plague of last summer. Working in a university in a human state…” He cut himself off, then decided to plunge ahead. “…is pretty awkward these days.”

“What’s been going on?” Eric asked, concerned.

“There are a lot of human states who are starting to distrust Aquapolis because of the plague,” Rowan explained. “Many believe that the government created the disease and released it itself.”

“That’s impossible!” Katharine snapped. “Why would we do that? Our government was weak as it was last summer. A transitioning Champion…after losing our last one…”

“Maybe they think that the government freaked out and didn’t want the human states to sense its weakness,” Langdon pointed out.

“With the peace treaties set up as they are, the rest of the human states will never risk attacking us,” Patrick pointed out.

Rowan frowned. “Unfortunately, many nations may take the plague as the sign of a chemical attack, a first strike made by Aquapolis that breaks the peace treaties from our side, thus giving them ample cause to start a war or form a counterstrike.”

“Which would still be incredibly stupid,” Indy pointed out, pushing back the ever-present fedora nestled on his graying head. “Many people have come to doubt the legendary power of the Aquapolian military, but one look at the history books, and any idiot can tell that it would be suicide to attack the country. Hopefully, they won’t try to gang up on us all at once and end up wiping out several entire countries worth of soldiers.”

The archaeology professor’s words rang into dead silence as everyone gathered around the table processed what he had said in a somber mood. No one wanted to say what the general conclusion was: that it was entirely possible that many human states, turned by extremist groups or their own government, would try to counterattack Aquapolis for something that another extremist group not even connected to Ever Grande did. And that…due to ancient law…the Aquapolian military had divine permission to simply wipe out whatever country tried to do so.

“Anyway, all we can do now is try to build up relations with our top three allies and make sure that we drive home the point that we were not involved in any of this,” Katharine pointed out.

“Except the part where we totally stopped the plague from killing every human out there,” House pointed out.

Katharine shot him a glare. “And that is classified information that Wallace and I will decide to give out…eventually. We need to make sure we plan a good time to do so…”

“Tonight would be a good time…” Langdon mused. “New beginnings and whatnot. Try to patch up old hurt feelings.”

“He’s got a point,” Patrick agreed.

“I’ll talk to Wallace about that, then,” Katharine said. “In the meantime, none of us can speak to anyone else about what happened last summer. Understood?” Everyone nodded.

“So, I’m curious…how did you land this job again?” House asked, looking straight at Cyrus.

The former Aquapolian physicist blanched a bit before replying, “I inherited it. Probably some old scientist that I once knew or something…” He trailed off, avoiding his friends’ eyes as he waited for the conversation to drift in another direction. Rowan, who had been Cyrus’ mentor during his undergraduate and doctoral years shot him a worried look. Katharine wondered if Rowan and Cyrus had kept in touch during the latter’s transition from science to economics.

Seeing that Cyrus was reluctant to speak on the subject, most of the members of the Legendary Team decided to drop it. House was about to open his mouth again to ask the scientist some questions, but was met with a stern glare from Indy, who was, for the first time in months, awake for a meeting. He had a habit of drifting off during department meetings at Harvard, often having to be shaken awake by Langdon, who always sat beside him. For the two veterans of the fight at the Vatican, Harvard had become almost a sea of non-consequential parties and papers, with Langdon and Indy the sole alive passengers set adrift on a wooden board.

As the conversation drifted on to other matters, it was soon discovered that the professors were not the only ones feeling the emotional after-effects of the previous summer’s events. Ben had tried and tried again to find government jobs around D.C., but was barred from each one, especially those centered around the National Mall. He had a few friends at the F.B.I., including one of the officers who had pursued him during his flight with the Declaration of Independence some years previously. That friend had secured him a low-ranking job, but office politics had won out in the end from people above and Ben soon found himself jobless. Now he was helping his girlfriend who worked at the National Archives with mundane day-to-day tasks just to keep himself from going insane.

Riley had secured a new job for the Devon Corporation in Hoenn, the company who made PokeNavs and different kinds of Poke Balls to be sold to trainers. Instead of staying in Aquapolis as he wanted to, he was assigned to work in the New York branch of the company, helping to design new applications for the device. He had been happy with the job for a few weeks, but quickly grew disinterested. He had wanted to live in Hoenn for years…training Pokemon in his spare time. Now, with international laws prohibiting trainers from releasing their Pokemon within the borders of human states, he wouldn’t get that chance.

Rowan, like Langdon, had returned to his job at Yale, only to find that most of his projects had been frozen by the university, which forced him into a disinteresting and money-wasting project with the chemistry department which he absolutely hated. At least, for a time, Cyrus was there to keep him company…until the younger Aquapolian physicist up and announced one day that he had become the new CEO of Akagi International. Now, Rowan was contemplating quitting…but couldn’t because he still needed to be at Yale to keep Cyrus’ Aquapolian equation project open and safe from those who wanted to steal it.

Nichols and Stevens, of course, had the most exciting jobs of the group as detectives at the Major Case Shadow Forces Division of the New York police department. Indy was still teaching at Harvard. House was still running his Aquapolian diagnostics center in New Jersey.

“Hey, guys, hate to be a mood killer but it’s almost time for us to get the Vice-Champion and Aquapolian Cardinal to the Hall of Fame,” Riley spoke up.

“He’s right,” Rowan conceded.

“We’ll see you later,” Langdon added.

Katharine smiled as she and Patrick rose from the table, saying their final good-byes before they left for the Hall of Fame.

------------

“Do you have a sweater to go with this?” Katharine asked as she spun around in front of the full-length mirror that had been set up in her office. Behind her, appraising the new Vice-Champion from head to toe was a woman in her early twenties, only a few years older than Katharine herself. She was the official stylist for the Vice-Champion on such occasions. While the men in the Elite Four had no need for one, whenever a woman joined the group, she was assigned a stylist from the heights of Aquapolian fashion. It was THE job to have in any fashion industry anywhere, even topping those who dressed royalty, though, in Aquapolis, the Elite Four WAS royalty.

Her stylist, Courtney, had auburn hair that fell almost to her waist and dark brown eyes. Now, her eyes were light in approval, making Katharine twirl around again. She had chosen a blue strapless dress with white swirls wrapping around Katharine’s waist and falling to her feet. The blue was as close to Aquapolian crystal blue as material could get, bringing out Katharine’s eyes and the cross pendent around her neck.

Courtney laughed at her question. “That was cute, honey. I’m not going to spoil this dress with a sweater. Since you don’t have a date, guys will be all over you…” She frowned. “Well, those who aren’t scared by power, at least…”

Katharine shook her head before Courtney descended into one of her girly rambles about guys and dresses and whatnots. “You don’t think this dress is too…revealing?” She asked, though as soon as the question left her lips, she cursed herself for its stupidity. She was talking to a fashion designer. Nothing is too revealing to them.

“Princesses and queens all around the world wear dresses more revealing than this,” Courtney said, her eyebrows knotted in confusion.

“Princesses and queens don’t have Catholic priests for fathers,” Katharine muttered under her breath, wrapping her arms around herself.

“Yeah, everyone is talking about that,” Courtney said nonchalantly as she fiddled with Katharine’s hair a bit more. “Cardinal McKenna adopted you, right?” Finally satisfied that the Vice-Champion’s long blonde hair was fixed to her liking, Courtney stepped back and fixed her with her curious brown gaze.

The truth was no longer a secret, but Katharine was wary about telling her stylist. Aquapolians designers were probably the best gossipers on the planet. Once the public knew, questions would be raised to how valid his position in the church was…and then Katharine would have to explain her true legendary identity and she definitely didn’t need all that attention.

Unfortunately, Courtney was too intuitive for her own good and saw the shadow of a doubt cross over Katharine’s face. The stylist stepped back a bit, shocked by her realization. Since she probably heard all sorts of gossip about the higher ups in Ever Grande, this secret must have been pretty big to surprise even her. “Wait…so…he’s not your adopted father? He’s your…” She looked around, as if she didn’t want anyone else to hear. A slight spark of hope lifted in Katharine. Perhaps she wouldn’t tell anyone. “He’s your actual father?” Courtney whispered, her eyes now wide.

“Yes,” Katharine almost growled. “And that is a state secret so…”

“Oh…oh, no,” Courtney shook her auburn head so fast, it flickered like fire from the overhead lights. “Believe me, I won’t tell a soul. I thought there was something strange…”

“Like what?” Katharine’s heart pounded in her ears. Was it that obvious she and Patrick were biologically related?

“There are ways you walk, ways you talk…and even though you have different colored eyes, I see the same expressions in both of them sometimes. You both carry yourselves the same way as well…” Courtney paused. “Almost as if you know you have so much of the world on your shoulders…”

There was a loud knock at the door, startling Courtney out of her deep thoughts. She gave Katharine a huge smile. “Go out there and dazzle the world, Miss Vice-Champion.”

Katharine shot her a hesitant smile as her father stepped through the door. “I will.” As she left, she glanced over at Courtney, realizing that the stylist was studying them both intently, as if the two McKennas had more secrets she could uncover by just observing them.

Character of the Chapter:Dr. David Rowan
Canon: Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum
Nationality: Aquapolian
Occupation: Aquapolian physicist and professor at Yale
Type: Psychic
Harnessed Power at the Final Fight of Angels and Demons: Space
Short Bio: Cyrus’ mentor and one of Katharine’s high school professors, Rowan was in constant contact with Patrick for years to keep him informed of how Katharine was while she was away in Aquapolis attending school. He was part of the original group of priests and Aquapolians (a sort of prequel to the Legendary Team) who kept the secret of the identity of Katharine’s true parents and kept her safe as she grew up in the Catholic Church. After she graduated from high school, Rowan returned to Yale (though his true alma mater was the Aquapolian Institute of Technology) to assist Cyrus in his project to create the human and Aquapolian equations. Through contacts and friendships over the years, Rowan created a list of individuals that would be able to band together and help the Chosen One in times of darkness. While Langdon searched for the six missing cardinals, Patrick called Rowan in to help. After the first initial strike, Rowan called together what would become the Legendary Team, a group of twelve individuals who would stand up to the Shadow Forces and save the Vatican. Little did he know that the Legendary Team may turn out to be more than just a ragtag group of Aquapolians…

11: A Meeting of World Leaders

Katharine twisted her hands over and over again in her lap, staring out the window as Ever Grande flew past.

“Don’t be nervous, Katharine. The other heads of state will love you,” Wallace assured her from his seat across from her.

“Yeah, that’s not what I’m worried about.”

Drake frowned, glancing over to where Patrick also stared out of the window, seemingly much more nervous than his daughter. “I’m guessing you’re most anxious about divulging this secret…”

Patrick sighed. “Yes. We don’t know what consequences it will bring down. It’s not some small secret…it’s…”

“The biggest secret in history,” Wallace finished for him. “And we need to make sure that it does not leave the room with the other heads. Our unveiling of this secret to them will be the ultimate peace offering and will allow them to prepare for future attacks should the Shadow Forces rise up again.”

Katharine nodded as their vehicle pulled to a stop outside of the huge mansion reserved for balls and receptions such as this. Wallace exited the car first, helping Katharine out as Patrick and Drake followed them into a side door that led to one of the back rooms of the house. The room was already filled with about six or seven people, all of them gathered into groups and chattering. Several security personnel lined the room, keeping an eye on all of the people inside. All four were let in without a word.

“Ah, Champion Sootopolis!” A man in his early fifties strode forward, his brown eyes gleaming. He held out a hand for Wallace to shake. “A pleasure for us to finally meet.”

“The pleasure is all mine, President Roberts,” Wallace replied, shaking the man’s hand. “May I introduce my Elite Four. First, our new Aquapolian Cardinal, Father Patrick McKenna.” Patrick and Roberts shook hands, a flash of recognition burning in the president’s eyes before he turned back to Wallace. “My Elite Elder, Drake Blackthorn.” The two older men shook hands and smiled at each other, as if they were already acquaintances. “And, finally, my Vice-Champion, Katharine McKenna.” Katharine could see the surprise in Roberts’ eyes at her last name as they shook hands.

“So the mystery Vice-Champion is finally revealed!” Roberts laughed. “I wondered why you look so familiar. You wouldn’t happen to be the same Katharine McKenna who broke the eleven conference title record last year, would you?”

She blushed. “Yes, sir, that was me.”

“Excellent. From your battles, it is clear to me that you will make an excellent Vice-Champion. Clearheaded, intelligent, and powerful.”

Katharine blushed again at the praise, but felt a rush of pleasure that this world leader thought her fully capable of ruling. “Thank you, sir.”

“Ah, and here are our advisors,” Wallace said, causing both Roberts and Katharine to turn and spot Walker and Colin nearby. “The advisor to the Vice-Champion, Dr. Alexander Walker, and advisor to the Aquapolian Cardinal, Colin Brown.”

Roberts shook hands with both of them, but leaned in close to whisper a question to Colin that Katharine barely picked up. “And which legendary are you, Mr. Brown?” He asked with a smile.

Colin smiled back. “Cobalion, sir, but let’s keep that secret between you and me.”

Roberts smiled good-naturedly, his brown eyes shining with humor. From what Katharine had heard, the current President of the United States had been the second youngest president to be elected, right after John F. Kennedy. He was currently serving his second term and had been elected both into office and re-elected in landslide victories. Democrats grumbled about him, but even they had to admit that this confident Republican from the Deep South was born to lead.

Katharine turned away from Roberts, allowing Wallace to introduce her to his vice-president, Rick Kinnard. Kinnard was much older than Roberts, easily in his sixties with salt and pepper grey hair that made him look nothing more than a kindly grandfather. He spoke shortly with Katharine, giving her the impression that he wasn’t exactly thrilled with the close alliance between America and Aquapolis. This worried her. Roberts was strongly pro-Aquapolian, but what if, in addition to his Vice-President, his cabinet…his advisors…Congress…What if so many of them were re-thinking the alliance and turning away from their friend across the Pacific?

She pushed the thought to the back of her mind, smiling as her father engaged the current Japanese emperor, who was himself Japanese-Aquapolian. The entire unbroken line of Japanese emperors had been Japanese-Aquapolian, a symbol of the only other Aquapolian state in the world. While she knew that Patrick had to be nervous, he seemed to be calm while speaking to the emperor and his prime minister, both of which were extremely interested in hearing whatever the young Aquapolian Cardinal had to say.

“Now here’s the big one,” Wallace whispered suddenly as he took her arm and guided her over to meet the current Queen of England. Katharine tried to keep herself from trembling with nerves as she stepped carefully over to where the Queen stood conversing with Drake. Instead of Wallace introducing her this time, Drake took the honors, adding that she was his granddaughter. A look of pride and happiness flashed through his eyes as he spoke the words, making Katharine genuinely smile through her nerves.

The Queen gave Katharine an appraising look, as if she needed to study the young Vice-Champion for a few moments in order to form an opinion on her. Katharine tried to stand up as straight as she could, though her short stature already disadvantaged her in some way. Tall and imposing she was not. However, at least physically, she seemed to impress the Queen, because the older woman smiled warmly and asked her, “Haven’t I seen you on the conference circuit? You were the winner of the most recent SoulSilver Conference in Jhoto, I believe.”

Katharine was caught off guard by her question as Drake smiled, obviously expecting something to that effect to come out of the Queen’s mouth. Katharine focused and responded, “Yes, ma’am, I have been on the conference circuit for nearly ten years now. Though I’ve journeyed through Jhoto several times, I have to say that I enjoyed my journey for the SoulSilver Conference most of all.”

“And why would you say that?”

Katharine paused. The real reason behind her statement lay in forbidden territory…well, forbidden for another few minutes, at least. Finally, after a few moments of thought, she settled on a short truth. “I believe I spent more time enjoying the legends and traditions of the region itself instead of running from one gym to the other and missing everything as I did during my first Silver Conference.”

This seemed like a most acceptable answer. The Queen’s eyes lit up. “I have always wanted to return to Jhoto myself. It has been years since I’ve visited. It is the region most steeped in history and tradition…though I suspect because so many Japanese-Aquapolians moved there over the years.”

Sadly, Katharine was unable to continue their interesting conversation. Wallace called everyone’s attention, and seats were taken around the room hastily. Aquapolis, Japan, America, and England took different sections. She slid into a seat next to her father, casting a glance at him before returning her attention to Wallace. His emerald green eyes were shining with worry. Did he think revealing this secret was a bad idea?

Wallace cleared his throat. Though he was the youngest world leader in the room, he still cut an impressive figure. Every inch of him screamed of what a powerful Champion he would make. Though he had a laidback personality most of the time, he had been the perfect choice for this position. Katharine had no doubt in her mind of this fact. Every eye was on him as he started to speak.

“I thank you all for coming here this evening. Some of you have traveled great distances to celebrate the beginning of another chapter in Aquapolian history. This will be the first time in our country’s history that all four of our nation’s leaders will be completely new during an inauguration. And…for those of you who are not aware of the fact, we are also the youngest Elite Four in history. As we look towards the future, we must correct the mistakes of our past, which include the mistakes my predecessor made.”

Katharine could see several pairs of eyes glance over at Drake after this statement. Her grandfather’s face betrayed no emotion. His grey eyes stayed on Wallace’s face as the young Champion continued. Katharine felt a small spark of pity for him. He had been such a great national leader in the nineties…only to find great disappointment in his grandson during Lance’s reign as Champion. She made a silent vow to make up for all of Lance’s transgressions and to ensure that Drake would have at least one grandchild he was proud of.

As she formed this promise in her head, Wallace continued on. “To ensure that more mistakes are not made by our new administration, I want to impart to you all knowledge that I believe you should be aware of.” His eyes moved from Drake, his advisor, to Patrick…and finally to Katharine. She nodded slightly, urging him on as he took a deep breath and continued.

“I give my sincerest condolences to the people of each of your nations and those around the world who were affected by the plague last summer. It was a terrible, terrible tragedy that was stopped all too late in time to save so many lives. I believe that each of you has a right to know the true happenings behind this plague. Why it was unleashed. How it was unleashed…and, most importantly…by whom it was unleashed.”

Wallace took another deep breath and turned to Patrick. Katharine was surprised. She didn’t know that her father was going to speak…was going to tell all of these world leaders what had really happened at the Vatican the previous summer. And yet…he was the perfect person to do so. He had been there for it all and had played a key part in taking down the Shadow Commander. He would also be able to instill a sense of urgency in the human state leaders…that the Shadow Forces were not gone and that Ever Grande was on the right side.

While he wasn’t visibly shaking, Katharine could tell that her father was extremely nervous. This wasn’t anything like his speech in front of the entire conclave. That was made in front of priests…men who believed in the legends…who had seen a legendary fight right before them. Humans tended to be extremely skeptical of the existence of legendaries, tolerating talk of them in order to avoid upsetting Aquapolians, who were fiercely connected to the stories of the legendaries as part of their religion. Now, Patrick had to not only convince them of legendary events, but also of his being a legendary…and Katharine being the Chosen One.

As the new Aquapolian Cardinal spoke, Katharine glanced around the room, gauging the leaders’ reactions. Their eyes widened as Patrick told them about the Shadow Forces’ invasion of the Vatican and how the Legendary Team prevented them from taking it over. Finally, every eye in the room was on her as he told them that she was the Chosen One. As soon as he finished speaking, he traded places with Wallace. The young Champion looked around somberly at the people in the room. “I’m afraid that I have to ask you all to keep this among yourselves. No one outside of this room should know the truth of what happened last summer. At least not yet. The Shadow Forces are still at large, though their Shadow Commander is dead. We must act together to stop them from rising again.”

Once again, Katharine forced herself to sweep the room, her eyes searching each face. Some looked uneasy, as if they were afraid to come anywhere near the Shadow Forces. As if they would rather watch from a distance as this young Champion led a campaign against the very group that had wiped out so many of their citizens. The Queen’s face was unreadable. She had recently celebrated her fiftieth year as Queen of England. She knew how to control her emotions. And Katharine knew that she would do anything to prevent another catastrophe in England. The country had lost half of its inhabitants, including one of her grandsons. If anything, she would go up against the Shadow Forces as vengeance for his death.

The emperor of Japan, as leader of the only other Aquapolian state in the world, didn’t have to be convinced to join Wallace is stopping the forces of evil. He knew all too well how much damage the Shadow Forces could do, even to Aquapolians. One of his nephews had become a Shadow Follower around a decade previously, but that would not deter him from making the right choice to destroy the forces. He nodded at nearly every other sentence out of Wallace’s mouth. He had begrudgingly gone along with Lance’s policies, even one closing off Japan and Aquapolis’ connection for a year in protest until the Elite Four finally booted the wayward Champion out of office. He was now Wallace’s greatest supporter.

Finally, she turned her attention to President Roberts. He leaned forward in his seat, his eyes distant, as if his thoughts were elsewhere…possibly across the Pacific in his own country. As she studied him, she saw a look of turmoil fly across his face. The Legendary Team’s warnings earlier in the day caused a chill to run down her spine as she turned her attention back to Wallace, who quickly wrapped up his speech.

“And now, I welcome you once again to Aquapolis. May the second Inauguration Ball of the 21st Century begin.”